Being On Reality TV
by SideshowJazz1
Summary: From my "Stephanie Simpson" series. Crossover with "The Simpsons", but starring my OC, Stephanie, the eldest Simpson child. More info inside. Plot: Stephanie is now sixteen, and she has the summer free. What could be more fun than winning a hundred grand on a Canadian reality show? No family, no rules, just a bunch of crazy challenges...no prior knowledge of Stephanie required. R&R
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so for those of you who don't know Stephanie Simpson, let me give you some background:**

 **She's the OC oldest child of the Simpson family, three years older than Bart. She's goth, very sarcastic and snarky, and not always very nice. So far, she has been in three stories of my own: "Being The Oldest", "Being The Slave", and "Being In Hillwood", and is also in one of Sideshow Cellophane 26's stories "Someone's Island" so go read those if you want some background on her. Now, for the plot:**

 **Stephanie is sixteen years old now, and wants to do something fun before the start of junior year. When she hears about a reality show in Canada for teenagers, she applies, and spends all her savings on a flight to Ontario. But eight weeks at a crappy campground isn't her idea of fun, although she knows her friends and family are watching on the Canadian reality channel back home. Can she survive with that support?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from _The Simpsons_ or _Total Drama Island._ And just putting that out there, I will not do any of the other seasons after TDI with Stephanie in them.**

I stood on the boat, my black hair whipping around my face as I looked towards the dock of my new home for eight weeks. And hopefully, at the end of the eight weeks, I'd come back a hundred grand richer.

Who am I? Stephanie Simpson, sixteen years old. Haven't heard of me, right? Well, here's a few names you might remember. Homer Simpson, Marge Simpson, Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson, Maggie Simpson. Thing is, that's my family. We've all been on some crazy adventures together, but I'm the only one who wouldn't bother reenacting them for the entertainment of the general public.

It's been nearly three years since then, though. We've gone through a lot together. There was the time me, Mom and Maggie were stranded on an island together. And the time a demonic ventriloquist dummy attempted to enslave me, Bart, Lisa and all of my friends. And there was the time we moved to Hillwood for a couple months and one of Lisa's classmates became convinced that he was in love with me.

Now, Bart's just turned thirteen, Lisa's nearly eleven, and Maggie's four. But it's summer, and so I decided to sign up for this new reality show thing in Canada. Mostly, Americans aren't in it, but I saved money for a flight to and from Ontario, and sent in an audition tape without telling my parents. They accepted me, and Dad promised he'd watch and record every episode so I could see it. Dad's really into reality shows, and Mom's been surprisingly supportive. I even persuaded them to pay to get the channel which airs shows in Canada, so they should get the first episode by the time the fourth episode is being filmed. At least in our house, the TV will always be on at that time, so they shouldn't miss a minute.

As for my siblings...well, Bart has been as nice as possible to me, but I've told him he's not getting a penny of my winnings. Lisa's been asking me to send her the truth behind reality shows, because she knows they only see a fraction of what's really going on.

So now I'm spending the summer at a five-star resort, competing on a reality show. Apparently we do get messages from home once in a while, but usually just letters. I read in the contract that we're not allowed to send messages ourselves, but if we get letters or another kind of message, they'll let us know weekly. The final five get video messages once the person coming sixth leaves. I'm determined to be one of those five.

I've kept up my goth style, and so I'm coming to this island in black jeans patterned with skulls, my black sandals, and my black T-shirt with _Undercover Vampire_ written in blood red.

I was first to the dock. Chris McLean, the host, greeted me with a huge smile. "Stephanie! Hey, what's up?"

I grinned, but that fell off my face when I saw the state of the camp. "Hey, Chris. Um...this is what you call a five-star resort?"

Chris shrugged. "Hey, it's got a roof, right? And it's reasonably dry, as long as it doesn't rain." I rolled my eyes and scowled, as another boat came by. A short, pudgy girl with huge glasses had arrived.

"Beth, what's up?" Chris grinned at her.

Beth, apparently, ran up and gave Chris a hug. "It's so incredulous to meet you!" she gushed, an obvious lisp in her voice. "Wow, you're much shorter in real life." She waved to the audience. Chris didn't formulate an answer before the next contestant arrived.

"DJ!" Chris greeted him.

The guy, a tall dark muscly guy, smiled. "Yo, Chris McLean! How's it going?" He had a slight Jamaican accent. Suddenly, he frowned. "Hey, you sure you got the right place here? Where's the hot tub at?"

"Yo, dog, this is it, Camp Wawanakwa!" Chris said cheerfully.

"Huh, looked a lot different on the application form." DJ muttered.

I looked up at him. "You noticed too, huh?"

Chris was already looking at the next contestant. "Hey, Gwen."

The next girl was thin, pale, and...well, pretty much how I would look if I was more girly. Her clothes were goth, like mine, but I swear, she was wearing a corset and short skirt. I admired her boots, though, wishing I had some like that.

"You mean we're staying _here_?" she said, scowling.

"No, _you're_ staying here." Chris replied. "My crib is with Airstream in AC, that-a-way."

"I did not sign up for this." Gwen said.

Chris pulled out a sheaf of papers from nowhere. "Actually, you did." Gwen took the papers off him, and with an evil smile, ripped them in half and dropped them into the water. I grinned. That's just what I would've done! Except that I had the hundred grand in mind.

But Chris had no problem. "The great thing about lawyers is, they make lots of copies."

"I am not staying here." Gwen snapped.

"Cool. I hope you can swim, though, because your ride just left." That was true.

"Jerk." Gwen muttered. I caught her eye and rolled mine. I got an answering eye-roll.

The next guy didn't seem bothered. He was wearing a cowboy hat and an open shirt. Now I wasn't into blondes, but with those abs, I would probably go for the guy.

"Chris McLean!" the guy said. "Sup, man! It's an honour to meet you, man!"

"The Geoffster!" Chris smiled. "Welcome to the island, man."

"Thanks, man." said the guy. I had to assume that what Chris called him meant that his actual name was Geoff.

I caught myself saying the same thing as Gwen. "They say 'man' one more time, I'm gonna puke." We exchanged eye rolls yet again.

The next competitor arrived. Chris introduced her. "Everybody, this is Lindsay." He paused, muttering "Not too shabby." Creep. Okay, so I'll admit it. Lindsay was this gorgeous blonde, blue-eyed girl. But she proved within the next minute that she had as many brains as a starfish. None.

"Hi! Okay, you look so familiar..." she said to Chris.

"I'm Chris McLean." Chris said. Lindsay looked blank. "The host? Of the show?"

"Oh, that's where I know you from!" Okay, even Dad was smarter than her. That's saying a lot, because he gets stupider as I get older. And he wasn't too smart to begin with.

The next competitor was Asian, with long black hair and critical grey eyes that swept over us. She blanked Chris completely as she passed.

"Heather." he acknowledged.

Beth jumped in front of Heather, yelling "Hi! Looks like we're your new friends for the next eight weeks!" Yeah, not on my planet, sweetheart. You're my competition, not my friend. And nor is this Heather girl.

I have to admit, the next guy to arrive was kinda hot. I mean, yeah, way too many piercings, but I liked his green mohawk.

"Duncan, dude." Chris greeted him.

"I don't like surprises." the guy said, holding up a fist.

"Yeah, your parole officer warned me about that, man. He also told me to give him a holler any time and have you returned to juvie." Oh, a jailbird. Whatever. Bart was sent to juvie once.

"Okay, then." Duncan answered, his scowl replaced with a smirk. As he passed, he directed a comment at Heather. "Meet you by the campfire, gorgeous."

"Drop dead, you skeez." Heather responded. "I'm calling my parents." she added. "You can _not_ make me stay here." Cue her contract.

The next guy was in a red tracksuit, waterskiing. "Ladies and gentlemen, Tyler!" Chris announced. As this happened, Tyler fell off the skis and ended up flying into the pile of luggage. His suitcase fell into the water and splashed Heather. Ha, good one.

"Wicked wipeout, man!" Chris called out. Tyler's hand appeared out of the cases and gave a thumbs up. While he climbed out, a geeky guy with a keyboard had arrived.

"Welcome to camp, Harold." Chris said. The boy looked around.

"What's he looking at?" Beth stage-whispered.

"So you mean this show is at a crappy summer camp and not on some big stage or something?" Harold asked.

"You got it."

"Yes! That is so much more favourable to my skills."

The next contestant was called Trent, according to Chris. He seemed a bit more normal than some of the others, at least. In fact, the only thing that made him stand out was that he had a guitar case with him. "Hey, good to meet you, man." he greeted Chris. "Saw you on that figure skating show, nice work."

"Hey, thanks, man." Chris grinned back. "I knew I rocked that show!"

"I saw that!" Beth lisped. "One of the guys dropped his partner on her head! So they got immunity that week."

"Lucky." Harold commented. "I hope I get dropped on my head."

"Me too!" Lindsay exclaimed seriously.

I rolled my eyes. "Think someone dropped her on her head already." I muttered.

"So, this is it?" Trent asked, looking around. "Alrighty then." He came to stand between me and Gwen, and then smiled at her. At first, Gwen wouldn't look at him, but then, once he stopped looking at her, she smiled properly.

The next competitor had blonde hair in a ponytail, and she was carrying a surfboard. She looked like my friend, Sunshine, but her laid-back attitude was more like my best friend Tasha. "Hey. What's up?" she greeted Chris.

"All right!" Chris grinned. "Our surfer chick, Bridgette, is here!"

"Nice board." Duncan spoke up sarcastically. "This ain't Malibu, honey."

"I thought we were going to be on a beach." Bridgette said.

"We are!" But there weren't enough waves for anything to happen. I mean, I thought Springfield had no waves. This place had less than we did.  
"Great." Bridgette muttered, picking up her luggage and going over to join the rest of us.

"All right!" Chris said. "That makes – ow!" Bridgette accidentally hit him with her surfboard as she passed. "Darn it, that hurt!"

"Hey, guys." Bridgette smiled at the rest of us.

Geoff's eyes lit up. "Hey, I'm Geoff."

"What's up?" Bridgette said, turning, making three of the boys duck her surfboard.

"Dang, watch the board, man!" Harold said.

"Hi, I'm Beth!" Beth called out. And again, Bridgette turned, making the boys duck.

"Okay, we've all met surfer girl." muttered Heather. "Can we get on with the show, please?"

"Somebody missed their double cappucino macchiato this morning." Duncan teased her.

"Get bent." Heather snapped.

Chris was still recovering from the surfboard attack, but he introduced the skinny Indian guy that had just arrived. "Our next camper is Noah!"

"You got my memo about my life threatening allergies?" Noah asked as he passed.

"Sure someone did!"

"Good, is this where we're staying?"

"No, it's your mother's house, and we're throwing a party!" Duncan told him. I laughed.

Noah got the line, but was unamused. "Cute. Nice piercings, original, do them yourself?"

"Yeah, you want one?" Duncan said, grabbing Noah's lip.

The kid seemed unafraid, to his credit. "Uh, no thanks. Can I have my lip back, please? Thanks."

The next girl was a total stereotype, a plump African-Canadian girl with a loud voice. She waved from the boat, yelling "What's up, y'all, Leshawna's in the house!" She passed Chris and high-fived him, saying "Yo, baby, hey, how you doing, how's it going?" She grinned around at us. "Feel free to quit now and save yourselves the trouble, cause I came to win!" Then she caught sight of DJ, the next darkest contestant. "Oh, what's up, my brother? Gimme some sugar, baby!" They high-fived.

"I've never seen a girl like you in real life before." Harold remarked. Poor kid. Never seen a black girl before.

"Excuse me?" Leshawna said.

"You're real big. And loud." Okay, that was more sheltered, but less racist, at least.

Leshawna scowled anyhow. "What did you just say to me? Oh no you didn't! You have not seen anything yet, I show you big, baby!" I grinned at her aggressiveness. I liked her already.

Actually, DJ and Bridgette had to hold her back from attacking Harold there and then.

"All right, campers, settle down!" Chris called out. He turned to the next two competitors, girls in stripy tops and pink shorts, one chubby, one stick-thin. "Ladies. Sadie, Katie, welcome to your new home for eight weeks."

I couldn't help bursting out laughing. Seriously? Their names were _Sadie_ and _Katie_? They didn't even look alike, but they obviously were wannabe twins. They both gave me concerned looks when I laughed, then turned their attention back to the camp.

"Omigosh, Sadie, look!" exclaimed the thin girl. "It's a summer camp!"

"Okay, I've always wanted to go to summer camp!" the chubby girl squealed. "Eeee!" I didn't bother to remember which girl was which.

The next guy was grubby and wore a toque. "Ezekiel, what's up, man?" Chris greeted him.

Ezekiel looked up, and then spoke in the most Canadian accent I'd heard since stepping foot in Canada. "I think I see a bird..."

Trent snickered.

Chris looked at Ezekiel, and said "Okay, dude, I know you don't get out much. Been homeschooled your whole life, raised by freaky pairie people, just don't say much and try not to get kicked off too early, okay?"

"Yes, sir!"

Gwen caught my eye again. "That's just...wow." I nodded.

The next boy arrived. He immediately reminded me of a puppy. I don't know why, he just did – maybe it was his big blue eyes and ruffled brown hair. Chris grinned at him. "Cody! The Codester! The Codemeister!"

"Dude, psyched to be here, man." Cody said in a voice that was obviously an attempt to sound cool. "I see the ladies have already arrived. All right." He looked around, and then was about to speak to Leshawna, but she stopped him.

The next girl arrived, and she was SCARY. Butch, with a monobrow, in athletic clothes.

"Eva." Chris greeted her. "Nice. Glad you could make it."

The girl dropped her bag on Cody's foot. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "What's in there, dumbbells?"

"Yes." Eva replied, her tone flat.

"She's all yours, man." Duncan muttered to DJ.

The next boy was chubby, to put it nicely. And loud, to be kind. "Woohoo! Chris, what's happening? This is awesome! Woohoo!" he yelled.

"Owen, welcome!" Chris yelled out, trying to match his enthusiasm.

Owen grabbed Chris in a bone-crushing hug. "Awesome to be here, man! Yeah! Man, this is just so..."

"Awesome?" Gwen suggested, a smirk on her face.

"Yes! Awesome!" Owen cried. "Are you gonna be on my team?"

"Oh, I sure hope so." Gwen muttered, drawing the 'crazy' signal.

"You about finished?" Chris frowned.

Owen put him back down. "Sorry, dude. I'm just so psyched."

"Cool." Chris said, looking up at the next boat. "And here comes Courtney!"

I looked at the next contestant. She was quite pretty, but her conservative clothes made her look way too preppy. "Thank you." she said when Chris helped her down. Then she smiled at the rest of us. "Hi, you must be the other contestants. It's really nice to meet you all!" I raised an eyebrow. Was this girl for real? She sounded like she was sixteen going on forty.

Owen grabbed her hand and shook it. "How's it going, I'm Owen!"

Courtney was sidetracked by the next boat, as she began "Nice to meet you, Ow...wow."

I didn't blame her. The guy on the next boat was SO hot. He looked like a Ken doll.

"This is Justin." Chris said. "Welcome to Total Drama Island."

"Thanks, Chris, this is great." Justin answered.

"Just so you know, we picked you based entirely on your looks."

"I can deal with that."

"I like your pants!" Owen spoke up.

"Thanks, man." Justin replied.

"Cause they look like they're all worn out! Did you buy them like that?"

"Uh, no, just had them for awhile." Justin answered.

Finally there was only one more contestant. Chris pointed out the redhead who was grinning and waving. "Hey, everyone, Izzy!"

"Hi, Chris, hi, hi!" the girl called out, giving a squeal of shock as she jumped off the boat, missed the dock, hit her chin on it and fell into the water. Courtney ran up to help her, but she seemed fine, talking a mile a minute. "That felt...so... _good_! Except for hitting my chin. This is summer camp? That is so cool! Do you have paper mache here? Are we having lunch soon?"

"That is a good call!" Owen exclaimed.

"First things first." Chris said. "We need a group photo for the promos. Everyone on the end of the dock!" We all obeyed.

I looked up at Owen. "Hey, can I go on your shoulders for the promo?" I asked.

Owen grinned. "Why not?" And he obligingly lifted me up to sit on his shoulders. I smiled at the camera, gripping onto one shoulder with one hand and giving the peace sign with the other.

"Okay," called Chris, "One, two, three...oops." We frowned. "Forgot the lens cap." Chris explained. "Okay, hold that pose...oh, no, wait...card's full. Hang on."

"Come on, man, my face is starting to freeze!" Leshawna called out.

"Got it!" Chris called. "Okay, everyone say 'Wawanakwa'!"

"Wawanakwa!" we all repeated, just as the dock broke. Our lovely little picture only had me out of the water, still on Owen's shoulders.

"Okay, guys," Chris said, "Dry off and meet at the campfire pit in ten!"

 **We'll have the rest of the episode next chapter. Yes, Stephanie is very similar to Gwen – I thought they'd be good friends, although I didn't realize how similar they were until I wrote this chapter. That being said, do you think they'll end up on the same team? Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter. Thanks for your review, Sideshow Cellophane 26 (reading my mind again..) and ProfessorSmooth.**

Once I got to the campfire pit, I looked around at the rest of the group again, trying to remember everyone's names. I remembered Beth, Gwen, Bridgette, Geoff, Owen, Justin, Izzy, Courtney, Duncan, Heather, Katie and Sadie, but that was about it so far. That was more than half, at least.

Chris was soon in front of us. "This is Camp Wawanakwa, your home for the next eight weeks. The campers sitting around you will be your cabinmates, your competition, and maybe even your friends, you dig?" I noticed Duncan holding up a fist to one of the guys whose name I'd forgotten.

Chris went on to explain the schedule. In order to fit in all the challenges, we'd have three or four per week, which meant some weeks we'd have breaks, but others we'd do challenges that lasted two or three days and no breaks. We'd be in two teams. After each challenge, the losing team would go to the campfire pit at night after casting their votes for the teammate they wanted to send home. Then that person would be sent out of the contest (I wondered momentarily what I would do if I was out before eight weeks was up and I was still stuck in Ontario until my booked flight home to Springfield, but dismissed the thought – I was not going to lose). The winner would be the one who would stay on the island the longest without being voted off.

"Excuse me, what will the sleeping arrangements be?" Duncan asked. "Because I'd like to request a bunk under her." He pointed to Heather.

"They're not co-ed, are they?" she asked.

"No." Chris assured her. "Girls get one side of each cabin and dudes get the other." The cabins had two doors, so I guessed that there was a wall between those sides.

"Excuse me, Kyle?" the blonde...Lindsay, her name was...raised her hand. "Can I have a cabin with a lake view, since I'm the prettiest?" What a princess.

"Okay, you are, but that's not really how it works here. And it's _Chris._ " the host frowned as he corrected her.

Katie and Sadie grabbed each other's hands. "I have to live with Sadie or I'll die." said one of them...well, obviously Katie. The thin twin.

"And I'll break out in hives." added the other girl, Sadie. "It's true."

"This can _not_ be happening." Gwen muttered.

"Aw, come on, guys, it'll be fun!" Owen said, putting one arm around her and the other around that waterskiing tracksuit boy. "It's like a big sleepover!"

The boy in the tracksuit glanced over at Duncan (who was giving a deer a noogie...no, seriously) and muttered to Gwen "At least you don't have to sleep next to him."

Then it was time for Chris to tell us who was in each team. "If I call your name out, go stand over there." I didn't memorize the names, since I was only listening for mine, but I heard Gwen, Owen, Katie, Trent, Cody and some others. I managed to remember Trent as the boy who brought the guitar with him, and Cody was the puppyish boy.

"From this moment on, you're officially known as the Screaming Gophers!" Chris announced.

"Yeah!" Owen exclaimed. "I'm a Gopher!"

"Wait!" cried Katie. "What about Sadie?"

Chris ignored her, calling out the rest of the names, including mine. I tried to memorize them this time, since this would be my team. I already knew Courtney, Duncan, Sadie, Geoff, Bridgette and Izzy, but then I memorized the rest of the names – Eva, Harold, Ezekiel, Tyler, and DJ. I realized with relief that Heather wasn't on my team, but then again, Gwen wasn't either. Our team was the Killer Bass.

"But Katie's a Gopher!" Sadie called out. "I have to be a Gopher!"

Courtney put a hand on her shoulder. "Sadie, is it? Come on, it'll be okay."

"This is so unfair!" Sadie cried as Courtney led her back to our team. "I miss you, Katie!"

"I miss you too!" Katie called back tearfully. Just my luck to be stuck with one of them. At least they were separated.

The last thing Chris showed us before our cabins, was the confessional outhouse. No, seriously. An outhouse. Luckily, there were other bathrooms, but we'd have to deal with flies buzzing around our head while telling the audience.

I ducked into the outhouse after Gwen had gone in. Lindsay and Owen were waiting their turn outside. "So, I already hate Chris. Why tell us we're at a five-star resort when we're at a place worse than Kamp Krusty? Mom, Dad, siblings, you guys better be watching right now! But I'm playing to win, okay? I will be richer when I come home...although I better convert it to American dollars at the airport before I get home."

We were given a little while to unpack. There were three pairs of bunkbeds in our room, so I dumped one of my bags on a top bunk. Bridgette took the one below mine, and we started all the introductions.

"Where are the outlets?" I heard Lindsay ask from outside her cabin. "I have to plug in my straightening iron."  
"There are some in the communal bathroom." Chris told her. I looked out to see Linsday looking confused.

"Communal bathrooms? But I'm not Catholic!"

"Not communion, communal." Chris reiterated.

"It means we shower together." Gwen told her, sitting on the steps of her cabin. "Idiot." Lindsay began wailing, as some of the other Gopher boys looked out.

"I'm glad we're in our own cabin with just guys, you know what I mean?" Owen muttered to his teammates. They gave him weird looks. "I mean, no! I didn't mean it like that! I love chicks. I just don't wanna sleep near them...uh, I mean..."

"Excuse me, Chris?" Geoff was out on the deck of our team's cabins, watching Bridgette. She'd just put her surfboard in our cabin and was coming back for her bag.

"Is there a chaperone of any kind in this facility?" Geoff questioned.

"You're all sixteen years old." Chris pointed out. "As old as a counsellor-in-training at a regular summer camp. So, other than myself, you'll be unsupervised. You've got half an hour to unpack and meet me back at the main lodge."

Courtney, who was already unpacking busily in our cabin, looked up from her bag and remarked "I was a counsellor in training at summer camp last year. I think my experience will give our team an edge."

Whatever. Courtney seemed nice enough, though. At least she didn't act like Heather.

At that moment, I heard a scream from the Gophers' cabin on the girls' side. The rest of us crowded around the door.

It was Lindsay. She was standing on a stool, above a cockroach. "What is it? Kill it, kill it!"

DJ screamed too, and then jumped up on one of the beds. Soon enough, everyone was screaming, either trying to get away from the roach, or trying to squish it. Eventually, Duncan appeared at the door, holding an axe. He held it high, and then brought it down.

"Well, that's one way to kill a cockroach." Gwen commented.

"Awesome." Harold added.

Tyler went up to Lindsay. "If you ever see one of those again, just let me know, 'kay, cause, you know...I could do that too." Lindsay smiled at him.

"They always go for the jocks." Duncan muttered.

I laughed at him. "So what? You jealous of him?"

"Are you kidding?"

"Course I am!" I teased. "Lindsay has about as much brainpower as my dad. That isn't much."

Then we went to the cafeteria, and that was where we met Chef Hatchet. "Listen up!" he bellowed. "I serve it three times a day, and you will eat it three times a day! Grab a tray, get your food, and sit your butts down NOW!" Huh, could be worse. I've spent half a semester at military school. To be honest, the cadets were scarier than this guy, and that was after they made friends with us and finished the hazing rituals.

"Excuse me, will we be getting all the major food groups?" Beth asked.

"Yeah," added Harold, "Because I get hypoglacemic real bad if I don't get enough sugar..."

"You'll get a whole lot of shut the heck up!" Chef yelled at him.

"Have a cow!" I heard Owen mutter to one of the other boys.

Chef heard him. "What was that? Come closer, fat boy, I didn't hear you!"

"I didn't really say anything important..."

"I'm sure you didn't! You, scrawny kid!" That was Noah, who I was standing behind. "Gimme your plate!" He dumped double helpings of red slop onto the poor kid's plate.

I waited to get my helping, then I beamed a big fake smile at the guy. "Thank you very much for this food, Chef." I said sweetly. "Looks good."

He didn't yell at me, but he muttered "I hate suck-ups."

"Okay, it doesn't look good, but I've had worse at military school." I said, breezing off to my team's table before he could reply.

"Yo, what's up, girl?" I heard Leshawna ask behind me. I turned, but she was speaking to Eva, who just looked at her coldly. "Oh, it's gonna be like that, is it?"

I caught Leshawna's eye and grinned at her. She returned it, before going to her table.

"Welcome to the main lodge!" Chris said brightly as we all picked at the lunch.

Geoff turned around. "Yo, my man, can we order a pizza?" He had to duck the meat cleaver Chef threw at him. "Whoa, it's cool! Brown slop is cool! Right, guys?" I grinned across the table and mouthed _Nice try._

"Your first challenge begins in one hour!" Chris told us.

"What do you think they'll make us do?" Katie asked nervously.

"It's our first challenge. How hard can it be?" DJ said.

An hour later, we were all standing on the top of a cliff in our swimsuits.

 **I know, I'm still trying to forge relationships. Stephanie will be doing more soon. And yes, she has been to military school – there are a couple of chapters of her first story when she, Bart and Lisa all attend, based on the _Simpsons_ episode "The Secret War Of Lisa Simpson". So please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**First challenge time! Also, I just want to note something. I am writing this as summer, and Stephanie is sixteen. Her birthday is July 5th, so I'm writing this as if she's only just turned sixteen, since TDI is eight weeks long and the summer would've ended by the time it was over. So let's say the special was filmed on the 31st of August, and Stephanie's flight home was on the 1st of September (in this case, a Saturday), then school restarted on the 3rd. Just letting you know what the timespan is for this story.**

Our challenge had more than one thing to do. The first part was to dive into the lake from the cliff. However, we'd have to dive into a small safe zone, or risk getting eaten by vicious sharks. After that, we would be given crates, which we'd then take back to the campground. We'd use the contents of the crates to build a hot tub. The best hot tub won, and the losing team would send someone home.

"Killer Bass, you're up first." Chris said.

"Oh, wow." muttered Bridgette. "So, who wants to go first?"

Owen muttered something to his team about interns doing the stunt first, but that didn't make me feel any better about it. Eventually, Bridgette decided "Fine. I'll go. It's no big deal, just an insane cliff dive into a circle of angry sharks..." But she landed safely.

"Yeah! I'm next!" Tyler exclaimed. He hit a buoy, but he was fine, so I jumped next, screaming the whole way down. I was followed by Geoff, then Eva, then Duncan. But DJ and Courtney both came down the cliff in chicken hats, having not had the guts to jump. Ezekiel and Harold jumped, though. Then came the team switch. Izzy switched with Katie. Oh, joy. Now both the twins were on our team.

"We're coming, Killer Bass!" I heard both of them call as they jumped off the cliff.

Sadly, the Gophers got an advantage on our team. More members of their team jumped than ours (only Beth chickened out), so they got carts to pull their crates in, while we all had to push ours. Actually, Justin missed the safe zone, but the sharks were too dazzled by his beauty to eat him.

Everyone on our team was kicking and pushing their crates along.

"Ow! I think I just got a splinter!" Courtney complained.

"Shut up, and pick up your crate. Chicken." Eva snapped at her.

"Hey, I'm the only one with CIT camping experience. You need me!"

"Push all the crates by yourself, then." I challenged. "And stop whining."

Katie and Sadie both went into the woods to take a bathroom break, but when they both came back, they complained that they were itchy.

"You guys are way behind the other team." Chris told us. "What's the hold up?"

Courtney explained it to him, but he didn't seem to be listening when he saw the bug bite on her eye. It looked pretty horrifying.

Bridgette worked out what Katie and Sadie had done. They had squatted over these plants that Sadie described as "oval and green and all over the place".

"Were they low to the ground?" Bridgette asked. "About this big?" The girls nodded. "You guys squatted on poison ivy."

So yeah, by the time we got to the campgrounds, there was only nine of us. The twins were sitting in the shallows of the beach, trying to make their itches go away. Meanwhile, the other team was already hard at work.

Leshawna noticed the abscences. "Hey, aren't you missing a couple of white girls?" she asked.

"They're getting a drink." Courtney told her.

Harold muttered something to Ezekiel, which made him laugh.

Leshawna noticed Courtney's bite. "What happened to your eye, girl?"

"Nothing!" Courtney said. "Just an allergy."

"Think it's getting worse." Ezekiel commented.

"Shut up, we don't want them to know that!"

Anyway, we had to get to work. Courtney tried to take the lead. "We need a project manager. Since I've actually been a CIT before, I'm electing myself."

"Where do we begin, Cyclops?" Duncan said sarcastically.

"Open the crates." Courtney ordered. "Bridgette, go find those itchy girls. We need all the help we can get."

Courtney was right. But our team was totally useless. No one appreciated Courtney trying to tell everyone what to do. I made a mental note to vote her off first – what right did she have to be the leader when she wouldn't even do the cliff dive?

Finally, Chris called time. He looked at the Gopher's hot tub first. It was sleek and shiny, full of water that had steam rising from it. "This...is an awesome hot tub!" he declared. The team cheered.

Then Chris looked at ours. It was rickety, full of duct tape, and a seagull with its' head in a six-packring was floating in it. Chris only had to tap it for it to start leaking and break.

"Well, I think we have a winner...the Screaming Gophers!" The Gophers cheered. "Killer Bass, what can I say?" Chris said. "Sucks to be you right now. I'll see your sorry butts at the bonfire tonight." Yeah, while the Gophers were in their hot tub, having fun.

Dinner was also pretty sombre. The most notable thing was that I saw Izzy, now sitting with her new team, staring into space with the most unsettling smile on her face. It was the way my friend and former stalker from Hillwood used to smile when he'd just had a crazy idea, or just carried it out. I wondered what she was thinking, but I was diverted by the conversation at our table.

"We have to decide who we're going to vote off." Courtney said.

Duncan, who was sitting between Courtney and I said "Well, I think it should be Princess or the brickhouse here." He meant Courtney or DJ, since they'd both refused to jump. "And if we have to push a car or something," he added, "I like our odds on the big guy."

"You guys need me!" Courtney protested. "I'm the only one-"

"We know." Bridgette and I said together. "Who used to be a real CIT."

"So who would you pick?" Bridgette asked.

Courtney glanced around, and then pointed at Tyler. "What about him?"

"No!" cried Lindsay from the Gopher's table. There was a pause as she realized she'd caught everyone's attention. "I mean, no salt, there's no salt on the table...bummer." she said nervously.

"At least he jumped off the cliff, chicken wing." Duncan argued.

"Shut up!" cried Courtney.

"You shut up!" I snapped back. "The guy's right about you, you know. You _are_ a total princess." Duncan went off, saying he'd had enough.

"I just don't get why we lost, eh." Ezekiel finally spoke up. He'd been quiet for most of the time. "We're the ones that have more guys and the same amount of girls as them."

Katie and Sadie froze. The rest of us girls scowled.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bridgette snapped.

"Yeah, homeschool, enlighten us." Eva added.

"Well, guys are stronger and better at sports than girls are." Ezekiel said obliviously.

I looked at Eva. "Want me to hold him so you can punch?"

Ezekiel didn't even seem to hear me as he continued "My dad told me to look out for the girls here, eh, and help them in case they can't keep up."

Eva hauled him up by his neck. "Still think we need your help keeping up?"

"Um...not really..." Ezekiel choked out.

"Guys, let's give him a break!" Geoff cut in. "I mean, at least he doesn't think that guys are smarter than girls."

Eva put Ezekiel down. The minute she did, the little creep opened his mouth again. "But they are."

Bridgette caught my eye. Both of us nodded. Voting off Courtney could be put on hold.

I went to the confessional to express how I felt. "That sexist creep is going home ASAP." I proclaimed. "Guys are smarter than girls. Yeah, remind me of that when Lisa starts taking junior classes in her freshman year while Bart's barely passing as an actual junior."

The campfire ceremony was actually not too bad, when you got past the nervewracking thing of it. Chris handed out marshmallows to everyone who was staying. I was called fifth, so I didn't have to wait too long. Soon, there was only one marshmallow left. And the two people left were...Courtney and Ezekiel.

"Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the night." Chris said. He took ages and ages to announce the last person to stay, but he finally said...

"Courtney."

Ezekiel was left sitting there. "Can't say I'm shocked." Chris told him. "I saw you picking your nose, dude. Not cool. Dock of Shame is that way, bro." So Ezekiel had to take the walk of shame down the dock and catch the Boat of Losers home.

"The rest of you, enjoy your marshmallows." Chris said. "You're all safe. For now."

We passed the Gophers on our way back. A few of them were dancing around, chanting "Go Gophers, go Gophers, go Gophers..."

At least we had a cabin to go back to. I chatted a little to some of the girls in my cabin. Courtney had gone a bit quiet, probably because she was so close to elimination, but Katie and Sadie seemed happy to talk to each other. Good thing, too. I didn't want to talk to either of those airheads.

"I am so glad we got rid of that Ezekiel guy." I remarked to Bridgette and Eva. "I mean, seriously. Did he even see you at the challenge, Eva? How many guys actually picked up the crates?"

Eva smiled slightly, but that was actually a pretty scary look on her serious face. But to be honest, when she wasn't angry, she seemed perfectly nice, if a bit distant. Bridgette was very nice and friendly. To be honest, I was glad to have her on my team.

I didn't know the boys on my team too well yet, but they seemed nice. Duncan looked like fun – I was looking forward to getting to know him. Geoff also seemed pretty cool. DJ was pretty nice, although he'd been kind of a wimp back on the cliff, but I got the feeling he wouldn't have acted like Courtney afterwards, even if she hadn't been there. Tyler was a bit of a klutz, but he wasn't mean, and Harold was a total nerd, but hey, I could deal with that. I mean, having a nerdy little sister like mine...it gave me a certain appreciation for nerdy people like that.

All I could do that night was wonder what the next day would bring. I'd survived one bonfire ceremony. One person down, twenty-one more to go.

 **I originally planned for Stephanie to think Eva was a danger to regular people, but the more I think about it, I think she'd appreciate Eva's strength. Also, as Stephanie fans may know, she likes crazy people. I'm working towards something here, people...take a guess! Hint: It's to do with the special.**

 **Please please please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, challenge #2! Thanks for reviewing, Ali6132 and StarHeart Specials!**

We did get a break that next day. The teams mixed, and I memorized everyone's names once and for all. It was also nice to get to talk to Gwen. As it turned out, we both had a younger brother who we liked pulling stuff with, and our style was individuality-based.

"Although I'm not sure why I'm not mad that I met someone that dresses just like me." I sighed.

Gwen narrowed her eyes in thought. "We're not exactly alike in the way we dress. You're just basic black and into being scary, right? I'm more..."

"Traditional gothic." I suggested. "But speaking of scary stuff, are you into horror movies?"

Gwen's eyes lit up. "I _love_ horror movies!" We ended up talking about all the horror movies we'd seen and going through every slasher flick rule we knew.

During the day, I also got to know the guys on my team better. I got that I needed to tread carefully with Duncan, but once I proved that I didn't take crap from anyone and that I couldn't care less who hated me and who liked me, I could tell I'd earned his respect. We became pretty friendly after that.

The next morning, Chris woke us early. Everyone trickled out of the cabins. Eva had her MP3 player plugged in, and Cody nearly lost a finger when he reached for it.

"Morning!" Chris said, with that annoying camera-worthy grin on his face. "Hope you slept well."

"Hi, Chris." Heather said, bright and chipper in spite of it being seven o'clock. "You look really buff in those shorts." I caught Gwen's eye and pretended to gag.

"I know." Chris said, with a wink. "Okay, I hope you're all ready because your next challenge begins in exactly one minute!"

"Um, excuse me," Owen said, "But I don't know if that's enough time to eat breakfast." But with the way he ate, he'd be the only one who'd finish breakfast in one minute.

Chris smirked. "Oh, you'll get breakfast, Owen...right after you complete your twenty kilometre run around the lake."

"Oh, so you're funny now." Eva muttered sarcastically. "You wanna know what I think would be funny-" A couple of the boys had to hold her back from attacking Chris.

"Eva, try to control your temper!" Courtney hissed.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Eva yelled at Chris.

"A little. You have thirty seconds..."

I don't know what Eva was complaining about. She had some of the most stamina of everyone. She was with a group that was still running. I walked along near Katie, Sadie, Harold and Gwen.

"Do you know how much longer?" Harold groaned.

"Don't walk beside me." Gwen told him.

Heather was just behind us, and she stopped as we passed Owen, lying in a puddle of water. "Can't..catch...breath...must...have...condition..." he said. I passed him as Heather told him off.

I got back after about six of my other teammates had already made it.

Owen suddenly burst in, with Noah over his shoulder. "Clear a table, stat!" he cried. Leshawna finally arrived, and Harold was last.

"What took you so long?" Courtney demanded. "We just lost the challenge!"

But then, it turned out that wasn't even the challenge. But we got a reward for it – a huge feast. A giant buffet – there was at least one thing for every person on that table. Turkey, mashed potatoes, bread rolls, peas, baked beans, and about a million other things. I pigged out – well, everyone did. It tasted like heaven compared to Chef's food, and we all wanted something to eat after that run.

"Okay, campers!" Chris said through a loudspeaker, after we were done, "Time for the second part of your challenge!"

"I thought eating was the second part!" Owen said.

"What more do you _want_ from us?" Gwen asked.

Even Heather agreed. "Weird goth girl is right, haven't we been through enough?"

I turned to glare at Heather. "So she's 'weird goth girl'? What makes her weirder and more goth than me?"

"Okay, weird goth girl 2.0, I'll call you that from now on." Heather said sweetly, smiling at me. "If that's what you want."

That girl was quick, I'll give her that.

Meanwhile, Chris answered her question. "Let me think about that...no! It's time for the Awake-A-Thon!"

We didn't need to be told what this meant. Person who stayed awake the longest won for their team. Was I glad I'd begged a Kindle for my sixteenth birthday and brought it with me. That could keep me awake for a bit.

"So," Gwen said, "What you're saying is the 20k run and the turkey eating frenzy were part of your evil plan to make it harder for us to stay awake?"

"That's right, Gwen!"

All of us were sitting out on the campfire pit, everyone trying hard to keep their eyes open for the next few hours. Owen was the first to fall, at twelve hours. It was so boring. The most interesting thing was to watch everyone else. I kept away from the Gophers, though. No sense in using them to help me stay awake – they'd stay awake too. But it didn't mean I couldn't watch.

Heather pulled Lindsay and Beth aside to talk about something. Gwen and Trent kept each other awake by getting to know each other.

Izzy, Noah, Bridgette and a few others were asleep by the twenty-four hour mark, and not even Chris reading fairy tales with Chef playing the harp dressed as a lamb made me fall asleep. I was determined to win this one.

Courtney lasted quite some time, moving back and forth for a long time. Katie and Sadie were finishing each others' snores. Justin cheated and painted his eyelids so he could sleep without getting caught out – but Gwen and Trent accidentally woke him.

It came to eighty-four hours – three nights and one day, and I was still awake. Duncan was awake enough to play a trick on Harold. When I saw him sneak up to the nerd with a mug of warm water, I raised an eyebrow at him. "You're actually gonna do that?"

"Hey, I've always wanted to pull that on someone." Duncan said. He dipped Harold's hand in the water, and saw the damp patch spread. "Gross, it works!"

I laughed. "Do that to me sometime. It doesn't work on me – my little brother played that trick on me a few times. Never worked."

Noah woke up to find himself making out with Cody. Both of them screamed and ran away from each other.

I giggled. "I just know people are going to start writing yaoi with them when they see this!"

I fell asleep around the time Gwen was begging Chris for a coffee. There were only five people still awake – Eva and Duncan on my team, and Gwen, Trent and Heather for the Gophers.

As it turned out, Gwen won. Duncan fell asleep during a bathroom break. That meant our team lost again.

Things only got worse. Eva discovered her MP3 player having gone missing and started hurling everything out of our cabin. "One of you must've stolen it!" she accused. "I need my music! No one is going anywhere until I get my MP3 player back."

Courtney turned to the rest of us, not tired enough to forget to pretend she was the adult. "Okay, whoever took it better give it up now, before she destroys the whole camp!"

"Hey, guys!" Heather came up, smiling sweetly. "Wow, this place is a real mess." It was true. Everything was outside.

"Someone stole Eva's MP3 player." Courtney explained.

"You don't mean this, do you?" Heather pulled the little device out of her pocket. "I was wondering who it belonged to! I found it by the campfire pit."

Eva's face was the picture of joy. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Sure thing." Heather shrugged, walking off. Wow, that was not suspicious at all. Heather was either really crazy, or really moody. She was so mean when she arrived, but then she was sweet. I mean, she seemed to think I really wanted her to acknowledge I was goth (although now I thought about it, as long as it didn't catch on, I'd not bother to make her stop calling me 'weird goth girl 2.0'.)

"So," Eva said sheepishly. "Sorry about that little...misunderstanding. Guess no one stole it after all. Okay...maybe I overreacted a little." It looked like she was going to be a major target for elimination that night.

That's why I talked to her. "You know," I said carefully, "The team really doesn't like you right now, but I think you should stay in this game. Vote with me?"

Eva gave me a suspicious look. "Who did you want to vote for?"

"The way I see it, the only chance that you have in staying in this game is if we vote off someone else." I told her. "I think the other major target right now is Courtney. She's so bossy. I'm voting for her tonight."

Eva hesitated. "Well," she said slowly, "I wouldn't mind getting rid of that bossy cow..." She smiled a little. "All right, Steph. I'll vote with you."

But it was a lost cause. I still voted for Courtney, and I'm sure Eva did too, but it didn't help. I was called up for the second marshmallow, right after Duncan. But Eva was left without a marshmallow.

She glared at everyone except me. Her brown eyes were suspicious, but she could see I was genuinely upset that our plan hadn't worked. "Nice." she scowled. "Really nice. Who needs this stupid TV show anyway?"

"Bye-bye, Eva!" Courtney called out sweetly. Eva turned around and threw her marshmallow stick. Courtney ducked. "Touchy!"

"You just voted her off." I pointed out. "She doesn't want to hear you say goodbye like you didn't vote for her. Watch it, Princess. You'll be following her soon enough."

Courtney scowled at me. "What is your problem, Stephanie?"

"Um, you?" I replied. "Seriously."

But I joined in when Courtney toasted our marshmallows. "To the Killer Bass! And to not ending up here again next challenge!"

Later on, Duncan sought me out on the cabin steps. "Hey, Steph." he greeted me.

"Hey." I said, not looking at him properly.

He lowered his voice. "Don't tell anyone I asked you, but..." he paused. "Don't call Courtney Princess. I claim rights to calling her that."

I shrugged. "Whatever. I can call her anything else, can't I? Why are you so bothered, though?"

Duncan shrugged. "I like seeing her get mad. What can I say?"

I grinned. "We should make a bet on who can make Courtney lose her temper faster."

"You're on, sister." We bumped fists. "Five bucks on whoever makes Courtney lose her temper fastest before she leaves."

"But one rule." I said. "No one tells Courtney about this bet – that's just cheating. She'd lose her temper instantly."

We both tried to get a good night's sleep that night. But I could hear snoring through the wall, keeping me awake after I'd gotten a few essential hours.

 **I don't know...I just see Stephanie and Duncan being pretty friendly, and her having a major problem with Courtney bossing everyone around. At least she can consider Eva a friend. Sort of. One thing's for sure – Eva won't be out for her blood when she comes back...that is, if Stephanie even makes it that far! Yes, I know when she's going...but you guys don't!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Let's keep going with one of the least interesting challenges. Thanks for reviewing, Ali6132, Sideshow Cellophane 26 and the guest reviewer.**

It turned out Harold was the one snoring all night. Duncan and I were falling asleep over our breakfast, and most of the others were half-asleep, too.

The Gophers, apart from Gwen, seemed to have gotten a good night's sleep. It turned out Heather had been proposing an alliance when she pulled Beth and Lindsay aside, and was now making rules so that basically, she had two willing slaves. Lindsay even said she didn't like the rule that Heather could borrow their stuff without asking, but they could never borrow her stuff.

Heather's response? "That's cool. I can change it. I can also find someone else to take to the final three with me." Yep, either crazy mood swings, or crazily strategic mood swings.

Harold arrived in the cafeteria with a moustache drawn on his face. Everyone started snickering.

"What?" he asked.

"Someone messed with your face, dude." Geoff told him.

Harold checked his reflection in a spoon. "Hey, sweet stache." I almost fell over laughing at that. He _liked_ it?

Everyone started cheering when Gwen came in late, although Courtney narrowed her eyes, and I heard Lindsay asking Justin "Why are we clapping?"

Soon enough, we were all ushered into a small stadium on the beach, with benches on one side. Duncan slumped onto our one. "Wake me up, and it'll be the last thing you do." he warned our team.

Courtney glared at Harold. "This is all your fault, you know! You and your snoring face!"

"It's called a medical condition." Harold protested. "GOSH!" Chef blew a whistle so the challenge could be explained.

The game was dodgeball. "The first rule of dodgeball is-" began Chris.

"Do not talk about dodgeball?" quipped Noah.

"As I was saying," Chris continued, "If you get hit with a ball..." He threw one that hit Courtney.

"Ow!"

"...you're out."

Courtney tossed the ball back. "You can't do that!" (I really needed to find another name to call her, since I'd told Duncan I wouldn't call her Princess any more. I was dying to call her that at that moment).

Then Chris explained that if the ball was caught, the thrower was out and the other team got another person in the game, although the teams would always start with five players.

"Throwing balls, gee, another mentally challenging test." Noah snarked.

"I know, right?" Lindsay said seriously.

Chris then explained you could deflect a ball with another ball, but if if knocked the ball out of your hands, that was another out.  
"So what do I do again when the ball comes at me?" Lindsay asked.

"You dodge!" Chris deflected a ball thrown at him and it hit Lindsay. "Oh, you were supposed to dodge!"

The games were best out of five. I decided to take a little nap for the first game, but I couldn't sleep. Courtney, Katie, DJ, Tyler and Harold went up against Heather, Lindsay, Owen, Leshawna and Cody.

"Bring it on, fishies," Heather taunted, "Otherwise winning three in a row just won't be as satisfying."

"Oh, you're going down!" Tyler declared. "We're gonna bring the dinner to the table, and then we're gonna eat it!"

Courtney facepalmed, and I kind of had to agree with her on that. That was a stupid thing to say. Especially since the first person Tyler hit was Sadie, who wasn't even on the court.

"Nice job." Courtney scowled. "Now let's see if you can hit someone on THEIR team!"

Owen got him out instantly.

"Time to unleash my wicked skills." Harold said out loud.

"Yeah?" challenged Leshawna. "Then bring it, string bean, let's see what you got!" Not so wicked skills. The ball went up, then rolled to the other side. Leshawna threw it at Harold.

Lindsay was the next one out, surprisingly by Katie. So at least she was useful to the team. But then Tyler waved to her, and she waved back. I spotted the scowl on Heather's face, and she purposely hurled a ball at Tyler.

"What the heck was that?" Courtney demanded. "Ref, he's not even on the court!"

"Oopsies, slipped!" Heather said innocently. Huh, her mood swings were definitely faked. Okay, I made a mental note not to trust Heather. But maybe I could try and befriend her to gain her trust, and then backstab her.

What? It's a _reality show_. You're supposed to backstab people if you want to get anywhere. I wouldn't do it to people I liked, but Heather was fair game.

Courtney was sent out after Owen caught the ball she threw at Heather. Gwen was brought in, but DJ immediately took her out. She seemed pretty grateful, seeing as she was too tired to play the game properly. Then Leshawna and Owen were both out.

Cody was the only one left, up against DJ and Katie. "Easy out, guys!" Courtney called. "Easy out."

She really shouldn't have said that. Cody used static electricity to get DJ and Katie out, one after the other, and they won the first game.

I can't be bothered to go through the next game. Close again, but the Gophers won. The only note was that Tyler actually hit someone – Lindsay, and then once he was out, Tyler asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. They left the stadium together. Aw, sweet.

Heather was pretty mad at Lindsay, though. "Hey, hey – get back here! You are so close to being out of the alliance!"

But then Owen basically went psycho and won the game for the Gophers.

"I'm glad someone is trying today." Heather remarked, glaring at Noah, who'd been sitting around reading a book during the game.

He looked up. "Oh, sorry. Woohoo, way to throw those murder balls. Go, team, go." Noah, I rechristen you Noah-it-all, man of many quips and no team spirit.

But Heather seemed to be happy that they were beating us. "Hey, it's two-zero!" she called over. "How does it feel to suck so much?"

"Not very good." Harold answered.

"It's not over yet!" Courtney called back bravely. Heather just smirked. Courtney sighed. "It's so over."

There was only one thing to do. Courtney explained what we needed. "We need someone strong. Someone mean. Someone who'll crush those stupid Gophers into the dirt!"

"Someone who warned us that we'd die if we woke him." I quipped. We all knew that Duncan was our only hope, but no one wanted to be the unlucky person to wake him. When we eventually did, Courtney dealt with it. "Look, we are down 2-nothing. I can appreciate that you need a little naptime, but we need your help."

"Oh, and why should I help you, darling?" Duncan challenged.

Courtney smiled sweetly. "Because I can personally guarantee you that if we lose this game, you'll be the one going home. _Darling._ " To be honest, I had to hand it to Courtney, she knew how to get what she wanted.

And Duncan did have a good strategy. We just took out one person at a time – all five of us on one person. The next two games were easy wins. The only really important thing was that Tyler came back after Lindsay was brought back by Heather. Courtney told him off for hanging out with her. "She could have been getting you to spill all of our weaknesses to her!"

I rolled my eyes. "Courtney, look at Lindsay. She's making her hands have a conversation. I don't think she's ever had a strategic thought in that pretty little head."

But in the fifth game, the Gophers made a bit of a comeback, although Noah still wouldn't play even one game. And it was soon Owen vs Harold.

"Sorry, dude, but you've gotta go down!" Owen said.

Then we watched as Harold really did show some wicked skills. He dodged every ball Owen threw at him effortlessly. Even Noah was shocked enough to drop his book.

"Time out!" called Courtney.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Duncan asked him.

"Figure skating." Harold said proudly.

"Harold, that was awesome." Geoff told him. "But dodging isn't enough."

"He's right." agreed Courtney. "To win, you either need to throw him out-"

"Which we all know you can't do." Duncan and I said at the same time.

"Or catch the ball." Courtney finished. "Can you do it?"

Wonder of wonders, he managed it. We'd finally won a challenge!

"Gophers, what happened?" Chris asked.

Noah looked up from his book. "What can I say? Weak effort."

"Oh, shut it, Noah." I heard Gwen say as we left, carrying Harold.

Noah was voted out that night. I was sitting nearby when I heard him from the campfire pit (I wanted to find out who left). He sounded really furious. "What, are you kidding me? All right, see if I care. Good luck, because you just voted out the only one with any brains on this team!"

I didn't see what happened, but I heard Leshawna yelling at him. "You need to learn a little thing called respect, turkey!"

"Whatever. I'm outta here."

I agreed with Leshawna, to be honest. Even Chris knew who was going, because I heard him talking to the cameras. "Okay, so it wasn't the most dramatic campfire ceremony ever. But I still get paid!"

I went to the confessional before getting an early night. "It's been about a week since I got here now. Three down, nineteen to go. Mom, Dad, don't forget, I get letters and packages once a week, so if I don't have any, I'll be mad when I get home and that means, Dad, you don't get any money off me for beer. And Bart, no, I haven't changed my mind, you don't get a penny of my winnings. Although, Lisa, if you want some truth to this episode, here it is – it doesn't pay to be bossy or smart. I'm going to vote for Courtney every single time we lose if she keeps acting this way!"

 **So that's dodgeball! The next day will mark the end of the first week of Stephanie's stay at Wawanakwa!**


	6. Chapter 6

**All right. Let's move on! Thanks for reviewing, The Radioactive Cupcake.**

The next day was a break, and as promised, people got care packages and letters. Mom even sent me some of her awesome sugar cookies. There were ten, so I gave one to the rest of my team members and ate the extra one myself.

I had a letter, too. Lisa had sent it, of course – Mom would probably send a few, too, but Bart and Dad never bothered to write – I don't think Dad even remembered how to.

 _Dear Stephanie,_

 _I miss you already. It's only been a week, and I still really miss you. Tomorrow night is when the next episode is coming, but there's only one every two to three days, so I won't see much of you._

 _I saw a girl on the show who looks a lot like you, but you guys are on different teams. Are you still going to be friends? I could see that. And you should make friends with that girl Courtney on your team – she seems nice so far._ (I scoffed at that, but Lisa could be bossy herself at times. Then again, she'd only seen the first episode – she hadn't seen what Courtney was like during challenges).

 _There was a "next time" scene which showed everyone jumping off the cliff. I know you're not allowed to answer this, but I really want to know if everyone survived._

 _Anything else...well, Mom started crying when she saw it. I guess you've got those cookies she sent now. I know she was being all nice and supportive, and she's just as hopeful as the rest of us that you come back with money, but she misses you more than anyone else, except maybe Maggie. She keeps asking when you're coming home, Steph. And you should've seen the way she grinned when she saw you on TV!_ (I was closer to Maggie than to anyone else in my family – my adorable, preschool-age, dangerous little sister who could aim a gun, organize a heist, and make wise cracks without even opening her mouth.)

 _Dad got bored with the first episode because he wants to see someone get hurt or someone defy death. You would not believe the way he started cheering when that one boy took the dive. Bart did too. But I think they both miss you too..._

 _Don't forget, we're counting on you to bring back the American equivalent of one hundred thousand Canadian dollars. Good luck!_

 _Love, Lisa_

Bridgette also had a letter from her mom, and we compared them, talking about our families. We got on pretty well. Courtney didn't have any letters. "I told my parents that I didn't want them to send any." she explained. "It would just make me miss home and distract me from the competition."

"And...you don't miss them anyhow?" I asked.

"Of course I do!" Courtney said quickly. "But not enough for it to distract me. But you'd be surprised – if I get too emotional, I can't concentrate. And if I can't concentrate, I can't win."

The very next day, Chris called us all to a little outdoor amphitheatre. There were two sets of benches, just like in the stadium (which had been taken down), so the teams sat separately.

"Are we gonna see a musical?" Lindsay asked. "I love musicals, especially the ones with singing and dancing!"

"Gwen, saved you a seat." Trent called over to the other goth girl. Gwen smiled and sat down next to him. Quite a turnaround from the way she'd refused to look at him on the first day.

Lindsay waved to Tyler, who was sitting with my group.

Finally, Chris arrived and told us what our challenge was – a talent contest! "Each team has eight hours to pick their three most talented campers. These three will represent them in the show tonight. Sing, dance, juggle – anything goes, as long as it's legal."

Chris gave Duncan the "I'm watching you" sign and Duncan snapped his fingers in reply.

"You'll be judged by our resident talent scout." Chris told us. He meant Chef. Apparently, he'd been a star decades ago. Chef would judge on a scale of one to nine, and the contestant with the highest score would win for their team.

Our team each took turns, conducted by Courtney. She herself had already decided to play violin for her turn, but we needed two more acts. First, Katie and Sadie did a dance routine. They'd obviously tried hard and practised several times, but being airheads, their choreography was worse than Spice Girls. Which is to say, useless. And outdated.

Tyler tried to do yo-yo tricks. He ended up getting tangled in the string. When we took a short break, I saw Lindsay watching a still-tangled Tyler through binoculars. "Ooh, _that's_ not boring." I heard her say out loud. Why didn't she just go up to him?

After the break, DJ did a ribbon dance, and he was actually very graceful. We all clapped, although Courtney was scowling.

"Fine." she sighed. "Sign him up. Next!"

"Me!" Bridgette volunteered. "I can stand on my hands for twenty minutes. Watch!" She flipped to stand on her hands.

"Okay, that would be cute if you were a monkey." Courtney said bluntly. "I just don't think it's quite what we're looking for. Next!"

I actually felt a bit sorry for Harold, who went up, took a deep breath...and didn't get to do anything. Courtney immediately called out "Next!"

I went up. Back when we were stranded on an island, I'd begged everyone to do a bit of a talent show, and my voice had attracted a crazy jungle boy who wanted me to be the Christine to his Phantom of the Opera. But I wasn't going to play Christine...no. I had a better idea. I wanted to sing a _Wicked_ song, but not one of the big ones, like _Defying Gravity_ or _Popular_. Even after all these years, I loved all the songs, but in this game, it would be about ambition, and there was one song that was more about ambition than even the big showstopper.

I began. " _Did that really just happen? Have I actually understood?_

 _This weird quirk I've tried to suppress or hide, is a talent that could help me meet the Wizard?  
If I make good, so I'll make good..." _I held my audience, and only wobbled once, at the end.

I was going well, singing " _Held in such high esteem, when people see me they will scream,_

 _For half of Oz's favourite team..._

 _The Wizard...and IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"_ Then I lost my voice and found it again halfway through. But my team seemed to like it, at least. Even Courtney looked a bit impressed. I was in!

Well, maybe. Apart from Courtney's violin and DJ's ribbon dance, Geoff did some awesome stunts with a skateboard. In the end, I decided to act as understudy. Something might well go wrong.

As Courtney took a turn to practise her violin, Geoff asked Bridgette a question. "So, can you really stand on your hands for twenty minutes?"

"Wanna bet that I can't?" Bridgette challenged, holding up a bar of chocolate. All the boys made bets on it, sure that she couldn't do it. I hung back, watching.

What a shock, something happened. Bridgette's ankle got caught in the light fixture right above Courtney, and it fell. Courtney herself survived. Her violin didn't.

"You... you killed my violin!" cried Courtney tearfully.

"I didn't mean to!" Bridgette said. "There must be something we can do." But it was busted. I'd get to sing after all.

I was going to go on second, so I was standing backstage with Geoff, DJ, and the Gophers' talents – Justin, Trent and Heather. Courtney and Bridgette were also with me. Courtney wanted to advise me, and if something went wrong, Bridgette would have to do her trick, so she was the next understudy. But right now, she was just scoffing potato chips. No wonder – dinner was more disgusting than usual.

Justin went out first, and just...modelled. That was it. And poured water on himself. Chef gave him a six.

DJ accidentally got caught in the ribbon and ended up with a two.

I got a bit worried after Trent performed. He played his guitar and sang something he'd written himself. Chef gave him an eight, and I noticed Gwen staring at Trent dreamily. Also, he dedicated it to someone at camp. I was willing to bet he meant her.

"Three down and three to go and the Killer Bass are totally sucking so far!" Chris said brightly as Trent went back. "Let's hear it for Stephanie!"

I came out, and I sang my heart out, but Chef only gave me a seven.

"Not so bad, but the Screaming Gophers hold the lead with Trent's love song." Chris updated it. Then he introduced Heather. She came out in a pink leotard and toe shoes, with her hair in a ponytail.

"Originally, I was going to dance for you." she said. "But instead, I want to celebrate team spirit with a collaboration." I was still backstage, watching with the other girls.

"So," continued Heather, holding a little black book, "With words by Gwen, performance by me, enjoy." She then proceeded to read out a passage about some cute guy who played guitar.

Yes, you got that. She read out a piece of Gwen's secret diary about how she had a crush on Trent. Seriously! Look, I could be mean, but I'd never do that. Even if someone deserved it, I wouldn't do something that heartless. Okay, in Hillwood, I did take a girl's diary(well, it was all poetry, but it was still a diary) and read about her secret crush, but I didn't show it to anyone except my siblings, and they weren't going to tell. How dare Heather do that!

"That was so mean." Courtney commented to Bridgette and I.

"Seriously." Bridgette agreed.

"Why would anyone do that?" I wondered.

And then Geoff broke his skateboard, and Bridgette turned out to be feeling too sick to perform. She hadn't wanted to say anything, but when she barfed up the chips, we knew she wouldn't be able to perform.

"I guess I'm not used to potato chips with a lot of chemicals." she admitted. "I usually only buy ones with natural ingredients. I thought these ones tasted a bit different."

"What are we going to do?" I asked. "We have to send someone out! Not Katie and Sadie – they can't get nine points. And not Tyler."

"What can Duncan do again?" Bridgette asked.

"Carve a picture of his own skull into a tree!" Courtney answered, panicking.

"That only leaves Harold." I said. "We've got to let him do this. You passed over his audition, but he's our only hope to get a good score.

I regretted persuading Courtney to let him, at first. He looked so unassuming and unaware of what he was doing.

"Just...go for it, Harold!" called Courtney. "What have you got to lose?"

And Harold...just...went for it. And he did...the most amazing beatboxing routine I'd EVER seen! Chef gave him a perfect score, and we stayed a strong team.

Weird thing was, Heather wasn't the one sent home. Somehow, _Justin_ was the one who got eliminated! Weird, huh?

The one good thing about the day was that Courtney didn't annoy me so much. Up until that day, I'd hated her the most on the island. Although I was still gunning for her next, I decided that it could definitely be worse. Although I wished I was on the same team as Gwen, since she was fun to talk to, I count my blessings that Heather wasn't on my team.

That evening, I was sitting out on the steps when Gwen came up. "Hey." I said. "What's up?"

Gwen didn't seem to notice me as she knocked on the boys' door. Harold answered.

"Did you say you brought a red ant farm with you?" Gwen asked.

"Yes."

"Could I borrow it?"

When Harold went in to retrieve it, I flashed a grin at Gwen and gave her the thumbs up, knowing what she was planning to do. About twenty minutes later, I heard screaming, and Heather burst out of her cabin, covered in red ants.

 **Well, that's the talent show done. Next up is one of my favourite challenges. Granted, that is because it has my favourite Duncney moment...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Nighttime in the woods...**

The week should've been easy, since our challenges were pretty short, and we should really have had another break. But our next challenge was one that would last overnight.

The challenge was simply to spend the night in the woods. We were given maps to where our tent would be, ready to set up. I took our team's compass, remembering the time Dad, Bart and I got lost in the woods. Mom and Lisa stayed put, and Maggie should've stayed put, but as it turned out, she'd followed us and run into some bears who she made friends with. Oh yeah, and after eating honey straight from a beehive and getting covered in mud, Dad was mistaken for Bigfoot.

But back to bears...Chris warned us to watch out for them. "Lost a couple of interns in pre-production."

"I had a little encounter with a bear once!" Owen boasted. "Let's just say his head looks real nice up on my mantle."

"Oh, this one time, I saw a bear eating our garbage!" Izzy added. "He had old spaghetti noodles hanging from his great huge teeth, and it looked like blood and guts, it was so gross! And we thought he was eating the neighbour's cat Simba but it turned out he was just lost for a week. Uh..." She paused, looking at Lindsay, who had gone green. "You didn't eat spaghetti, did you?" Lindsay shook her head. "Good, let's go!"

So I walked off with my team. I was near the back, so I was the only one who noticed Katie stop Sadie at a bush. "Sadie, look, blueberries!"

Sadie gave a gasp. "I love love love blueberries!"

"Omigosh, me too!"

I shrugged and continued walking. They'd catch up, right?

We found the campground fairly easily. DJ went off to find food, while Geoff, Bridgette, Courtney and I set up the tent.

Geoff smiled at Bridgette. "Wow, you pitch a tent like a guy!"

I had to hold back from saying anything. Bridgette looked unamused, and Geoff amended, "I mean, you're not all girly about getting dirty and stuff..."

"Gee, thanks." Bridgette muttered.

Duncan looked over at Courtney. "What's for dinner, woman? I'm starving!"

"I hope you don't expect me to dignify that with a response." Courtney said coldly.

"Oh, come on, chill out!" I cut in. "It's not like he was serious!"

"Hey, guys, look what I found!" It was DJ. He was holding a small rabbit.

"Well, I've never had rabbit stew before, but what the heck, I'm game." Duncan said casually.

DJ looked appalled. "This is my new pet! I'm calling him Bunny."

So yeah, we didn't have much in the way of food that night.

"Hey, has anyone seen Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Idiot?" Duncan suddenly said.

I glanced around. Finally I said "I saw the wannabe twins on the way. They stopped at a blueberry bush – I just assumed they'd catch up." I gave a sigh. "I didn't want them to get lost."

Courtney glanced up at the sky. "Well, it's too dark to search for them now. We'd get lost ourselves."

Soon, the eight of us were sitting around the fire. Most of us were happy, but Bridgette jumped at every little sound. "I just get really freaked out in the forest."

"This reminds me of this really scary story I heard once." Duncan spoke up.

"Awesome!" Geoff said. "Tell it, man!"

"Are you sure? Because the story I'm thinking about is pretty hardcore."

"Ooh, we're so scared." Courtney said sarcastically.

Duncan wasn't kidding, though. I wasn't scared – I was used to going up to the treehouse with my siblings during Halloween and telling scary stories. There was the one about the possessed house, the aliens, the vampire that came to dinner (Lisa's boyfriend in the story)...probably the scariest one was the one Bart told about the zombies. Or maybe the one where Dad went insane without his two true loves and wrote all over the house _No TV and no beer make Homer go crazy._

I resolved to tell that story, but Duncan's one sidetracked me for a while. He told the story well enough to freak me out a couple of times. "They say, that this killer is still alive," he said softly. "Wandering these very woods. He could be just about anywhere, really. Maybe even right _here_!" Suddenly he was holding a hook. Bridgette and Courtney both screamed, and all of the guys gasped. Duncan started laughing.

Courtney got up. "Duncan, that was so not funny!"

"Yes, it was!" Duncan kept laughing. "I just wish it was all on camera...oh wait, it is!" I started giggling too. Courtney shot a death glare at me and then turned back to Duncan.

"You are so vile! Do your _parents_ even like you?"

"I don't know, Jumpy McChicken, I haven't asked them lately."

"Anyway," I cut in, "Quit hogging the limelight. It's my turn to tell a story." But after that one, my story was pretty lackluster. We ended up going to bed early. Then Bridgette left the tent to go to the bathroom, got freaked out by bats, then accidentally kicked an ember on the fire close enough so that the tent burned.

"Great." snapped Courtney. "That's just great, Bridgette. Now we have nowhere to sleep!"

Duncan spoke up again. "Yo, Drama Queen, relax. It's cool."

"Cool? It's cool?" Courtney shrieked. "Things could not possibly get worse!" Then it started to rain. We huddled together.

I must've fallen asleep at some point, because I woke up to find myself cuddled up to my newest guy friend. That was cool. The only thing was, Courtney was cuddled up to him on his other side. Just as she began to move, Duncan opened his eyes. He gave me a little smirk and motioned for me to move away. I got it – this would just be another way to tease her.

"Morning, sunshine." Duncan said as Courtney opened her eyes.

Courtney gasped. "Omigosh, ew! You were cuddling me!"

"I was calmly lying on my back and trying to catch a few Zs." Duncan answered. " _You_ were snuggling up to me."

"You are such an ogre!" Courtney scowled.

"I've been called worse."

"Was that true – she cuddled up to you?" I whispered to Duncan on our way back to camp.

Duncan nodded. "Not that I minded, though." he said. "You did the exact same thing." He laughed. "Don't look like that – I didn't mind. It's not like I have to start dating you because I let you cuddle with me once."

Yeah, we were definitely mates. We hung out together, laughed together, thought alike, but we weren't attracted to each other. It was becoming more and more obvious that the reason Duncan liked to anger Courtney was because he was so obviously crushing on her, and me...well, I didn't have a crush on the island.

We got back to camp first, but we still didn't win because not everyone was with us, and Chris noticed. The Gophers, however, all arrived back at the same time.

"Oh, you mean Katie and Sadie?" Courtney said.

"We're pretty sure they got eaten by wolves last night." I finished. "Or bears."

"Darn shame." Duncan added.

But right on cue, Katie and Sadie ran out of the woods.

"We made it!" cried Katie.

"We're safe!" added Sadie. "Oh my gosh, you guys, we got totally lost and then got in this massive fight!"

"And there was this huge bear and he was all 'rawr, you're in my crib so get out!'"

"And we had to run and it was like so scary!"

"Oh, Sadie," Katie said, "I'm so sorry I said I was prettier than you."

"And I'm so sorry I brought up the snack shack!"

"And I'm sorry I said your butt was too big to fit in the bus seats."

"You did?" Sadie frowned.

"Um...well, not to your face."

There was an awkward silence, but then Sadie said "Oh, who cares? We're safe! And you're my best friend and I love you!"

"Aw, I love you too!"

It didn't matter about that. We'd lost, and one of the twins was going home tonight. The Gophers got to get tuck shop food for free – snacks and that. Now that was a reward worth envying.

To be honest, I still wanted to vote for Courtney, but now I knew that Duncan might like her, I held back. No one else would vote for her tonight – my vote wouldn't make a difference. Instead, I voted for Katie. No offense – but she was the one who stopped Sadie for the blueberries, so it was her fault they got lost.

The votes were cast, and it seemed most of the team thought the same – Katie was the one deprived of her marshmallow.

"No!" Sadie cried. "Why Katie? Why her?"

"It's so unfair!" added Katie.

"I so can't do this!" Sadie wailed. "I've never been anywhere without Katie! We have to be together or I'll totally die!"

Katie put her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Sadie, listen to me. You can do this. You are strong and beautiful and like, maybe even smarter than me. And plus, you're like the funnest girl I know. You have to do it for both of us!"

And in that moment, I admired Katie. For the first time, she showed that she had some qualities besides being a ditz...oh, and being not too bad at dodgeball.

But she destroyed that in seconds when I saw the way she and Sadie were calling to each other as the Boat of Losers took her away.

"I miss you already!" Sadie called out.

"I miss you more!" Katie called back.

"No, I miss you more!"

"No way, I totally miss you more!"

"I miss you infinitely more!"

Dumb twins. At least only one of them was left.

I hung out in my cabin for awhile, but I heard a scream as I came out. It turned out that Duncan had been scaring Courtney with his hook again.

"I hate you!" Courtney snapped, storming off.

Duncan saw me, and grinned. "She so doesn't hate me." he remarked, accidentally stabbing himself with his hook.

"And what about you?" I teased. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

Duncan raised his unibrow. "Seriously, Steph? You expect me to talk about my feelings?"

"No, I expect you to tell me you have a thing for Courtney." I laughed. "If you don't, cool. If you do, tell me and I won't tell anyone else." But really, he didn't need to tell me. I knew he did.

 **So that's Katie gone! Sad, really. I don't mind Katie and Sadie, but they're not high on my list of favourites. Stephanie's one of those really moody people who can't stand vapid people, similarly to Gwen but meaner. That's why she really doesn't like them. So what did you think?**

 **No, seriously, what do you think? I want reviews!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Oh yes, I love this episode!**

We hung around the bonfire for a while after Katie had gone. Bridgette had to drag Sadie back from the dock. The chubby twin was still crying.

The Gophers came up. "What do you guys want?" Courtney asked. "Come by to rub it in?"

"We got some extra dessert after our hot tub party." Trent answered. Beth held up some green Jell-O. "Thought you might want some."

Gwen explained that they didn't want to go back to their cabin since Owen's...uh, fumes...weren't bearable and they were airing them out.

Beth offered the Jell-O to Courtney. "No!" she said too quickly. "I mean, no thanks, I'm good."

"What, are you on a diet or something?" Duncan asked.

"No." Courtney scowled. "I just don't like green jelly, okay?"

I frowned. "You call Jell-O jelly in Canada? So what do you call the spread that the United States call jelly?" (I thought we were all from North America, right? All English speakers – this is an English-speaking part of Canada).

"Jam."

Beth moved on to offer it to someone else, but before she could, DJ screamed and knocked the plate out ot her hands. "SNAKE!"

Cody came up and pulled the 'snake' out of the Jell-O. "Chill, dude. It's just a gummy worm."

"Sorry for tripping." DJ apologized. "Snakes just freak me out."

"I feel you." Tyler said. "Chickens give me the creeps, dude."

That set off everyone. We all started talking about our worst fears. "Back when my town was an environmental nightmare, the government put a dome over it." I told my group. "It made me a bit claustrophobic. Like being in a glass case, cut off from humanity."

Beth was scared of being covered by bugs, Harold was scared of ninjas, Heather was scared of sumo wrestlers, Leshawna was scared of spiders...the list goes on. Gwen's fear was similar to mine – she was scared of being buried alive.

"Walking through a minefield...in heels." Lindsay said.

"Flying, man." Owen said. "That's some crazy stuff."  
"I would never go up in a plane." added Izzy. "Never!"

"I'm scared of hail." Geoff said. "It's small, but deadly, dude."

"Being left alone in the woods." Bridgette admitted. Yeah, she'd said she got scared in the forest, and that was with the rest of the team.

"Bad haircuts." Sadie sniffled.

"Okay, I change mine!" Lindsay said. "That's so much scarier than a minefield!" At least I didn't have that airhead on my team. She was worse than Katie had ever been. Although Sadie was pretty close. What did Katie mean, Sadie was smarter than her?

"Having to defuse a time bomb under pressure." Cody decided.

"I'm not really afraid of anything." Courtney claimed.

"Baloney!" Duncan pretended to cough.

I grinned. "So what are you scared of, Duncan?"

There was a long pause.

"C-Celine Dion music store standees." Yes, you got that right. Big bad delinquent Duncan was scared of a cardboard cutout of Celine Dion.

Trent finally told us his fear. "I hate mimes, like a lot." He looked at the one person too scared to say their fear. "All right, Courtney, you're afraid of something. Spit it out."

"No, nothing!" Courtney insisted.

"That's not what she said last night." Duncan muttered to me and a bunch of the guys.

"Duncan, did you ever consider the fact that maybe I was just humouring you and your stupid story?" Courtney asked. I laughed. If not for the reference to the story, I could've thought they'd done a lot more than cuddle.

"Sure, sure, Princess, whatever floats your boat." Duncan said.

"Shut up!"

The next day, Chris told us that our challenge would be facing our worst fears. We didn't take him seriously until he called out to Heather. "Meet us all in the theatre. It's sumo time!" Heather choked on her coffee.

"Gwen," added Chris, "You, me, the beach. A few tons of sand."

"Wait, how did they know those were your worst fears?" Lindsay asked blankly.

"Because we told them." Gwen realized.

We'd been filmed talking around the campfire. Chris must've watched the footage and decided to make a challenge out of it! Sneaky bastard.

"They were listening?" Lindsay asked, horrified.

"There's a reason why they call it a reality show, bubble brain." I quipped. "They listen to that kind of stuff."

"That's like eavesdropping!"

As it was, for some reason, there were two glass cases lying around. One for me, which I'd have to lie in, somewhere around the camp for ten minutes, and everyone would act like I didn't exist for that time – just as the government had made like Springfield didn't exist back then. Gwen had to spend five minutes in the other glass case under the sand, but unlike me, she got a walkie-talkie to communicate if she got scared – because my claustrophobia was about being cut off from humanity, I didn't get one.

At least I managed to do it, mostly just by keeping my eyes shut and reenacting musical numbers in my head. It was a relief when Chris let me out and my whole team congratulated me. Even Courtney grinned at me.

As for the other challenges...well I was busy pretending that I wasn't in a glass case when Chef, dressed as a spider, went after Leshawna and when Beth jumped into a kiddie pool full of bugs. But I saw Owen and Izzy when Chef took them flying in a crazy plane, and Sadie and Lindsay wearing wigs with horrible hair. Bridgette was in the woods already, though.

I witnessed Heather with the sumo wrestler. She was trembling the whole time, but she still scored a point.

Trent stayed by Gwen for the first few minutes of her being buried under the sand, but then Chris sent a mime after him and Gwen was left there for much longer than intended. She was lucky to survive. At least Trent faced his fear. Then again, that was another point against us and for the Gophers.

On the bright side, Cody couldn't defuse his time bomb. But negatively, he ended up stumbling towards Bridgette, covered in trash from the explosion, and she was sent running back to camp.

We also watched DJ and his snake. "Hey, you can do this, buddy!" Duncan called out.

There was a pause, as DJ stared down the snake. Suddenly, he gave a little scream. "It blinked!"

"It means she likes you!" Sadie called.

I frowned. "How can a snake blink? They have no eyelids." I looked at Chris. "Is it genetically engineered or something?"

Chris shrugged. "I don't know. The producers got it somewhere. Ask them."

"It's the smallest snake ever, DJ!" Courtney yelled.

"Yeah, but it's slimy and scaly...slithery..."

"We need this point, DJ! Suck it up!" The rest of the boys and I shook our heads at her. "What? We're heading back to Loserville, people."

And then DJ held it. Courtney smiled. "See? Fear is only in the mind."

Then came the Celine Dion standee. I sat with the rest of our team, giving Duncan an encouraging look, but Courtney stood beside him. I worried that she was going to yell at him, too. But she didn't.

"She's pretty, she's nice." she said. All Duncan had to do was hug the standee.

Duncan still looked scared. "That looks really...real, man." he said shakily.

"Dude, she's made of cardboard! Get in the game!" called Tyler.

But Courtney smiled at Duncan. "Hey, it's okay if you can't do it."

But Duncan managed it. He ran at the standee and threw his arms around it. We all started cheering, but Courtney loudest of all. "Duncan, you're awesome!" she cried, hugging him.

Then Chris made an electronic hail cloud chase Geoff.

Lindsay, of course, didn't understand it. "Look, that cloud's following him! It's like his own baby cloud – I want one too! Here, cloudy cloud!"

The Gophers scored 7 – Owen, Izzy, Lindsay, Gwen, Trent, Beth, and Heather. We'd only scored 4 – me, DJ, Duncan and Sadie. It got to Tyler. He was supposed to spend a few minutes in a pen with chickens, but he couldn't even look at them.

"Tyler, this is the last challenge!" Courtney shouted. "Quit being such a girl! You have to do this or we're going to lose this!"

"Actually, if you do the math, you can't possibly win." Cody pointed out. "The score's seven to four."

But there was one more challenge left.

"Who?" Courtney asked. "It can't be me. I didn't..."

"You didn't have to." Chris said brightly. "We're always watching your reactions." And Courtney had reacted to Beth offering her the Jell-O.

There was a high diving board with a tub of green Jell-O in it. As it turned out, that was what Courtney was scared of. "Only the green kind!" she protested. "It's like sugary, jiggly snot!" All she had to do was jump in. If he did, Chris would automatically give us the win.

"This is insane." Courtney said as she began to climb. "I could seriously die doing this!" But she climbed, and climbed, and climbed...she was at the top.

"Like you said, Courtney, it's okay if you can't do it!" Duncan called up.

"It is? But we'll lose!" Bridgette protested.

But unlike him, Courtney couldn't do it. She climbed down, tears in her eyes.

I went to the confessional after that. "Look, I might not have decided to vote Courtney tonight, if she hadn't been yelling at everyone else except Duncan. But she was a hypocrite today, and that's why I'm voting for her. I bet she's already got a lot of votes already after what happened."

But then Duncan came up to me and told me "Look, I know you were going to vote for Courtney. I think we should vote off Tyler instead."

I folded my arms. "I know you like Courtney, but she deserves to go this time. Why should I vote for Tyler?"

"Because if you don't, you should probably start running." Duncan said, his blue eyes threatening and serious.

I shrugged. "Okay, okay, you don't have to threaten me."

I still voted for Courtney, though. I just didn't show my vote to anyone else. If Chris didn't air everyone voting, which he didn't do, Duncan would never know that I'd ignored his threat. Not like I was scared of him and his hook and knife, anyway.

Well, not really.

It didn't matter. Tyler was out anyway. "It looks as if a new pecking order has been established." Chris joked.

"It's not like he called _fowl_." added Duncan.

"Time for Tyler to fly the coop!" Geoff continued.

"He won't be _flying_ high tonight." finished Bridgette.

"Okay, that's enough!" Courtney said finally. Okay, maybe that made up for her yelling at Tyler earlier today. I guess she knew how close she was this time.

 **It's weird, Courtney came so close to elimination twice, but her elimination was rigged. Hope you liked this chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I love this one! Canoes!**

We had another break where we got letters. This time, Mom had sent the letter. I could instantly tell by the tear stains.

 _Dear Stephanie,_

 _We all miss you a lot, sweetheart. We're all watching and rooting for you – we just saw the dodgeball episode. I'm very proud of you for sticking to what you think is right back in that episode where you voted off that tough girl you became friendly with. Your father sends his love._

 _We're all enjoying the show. Lisa's already made predictions about who's most likely to win, and she can usually guess who will be eliminated halfway through the show – although we all guessed with that boy Noah from the last one we watched. She thinks that the bossy girl from the other team with the long black hair will be around for a long time._ (She must've meant Heather.)

 _Hang in there. It's only six more weeks._

 _Love Mom._

It was a nice letter, and very cool to get insight, but to be honest, I'd be more interested in Lisa's, because she would tell me what she thought of the other contestants. But the break was a fleeting pleasure. We had another challenge the next day.

This time, we had to canoe up to a place called Boney Island, then take the canoes to the other side of the island and make a fire. Chris would judge the best one, and then we would canoe back. First team back won.

"Oh, and one more thing I should mention." Chris added in an ominous voice. "Legend has it that if you take anything off the island, you'll be cursed forever!"

"Yeah! A cursed island!" Owen exclaimed.

Silence.

"Now, get in your canoes, and let's have some fun!" Chris grinned. Fun for him, maybe.

I paired up with Duncan for the canoe trip. If I hadn't, I probably would've gone with Bridgette, but she was all good – she asked Courtney to be her partner. It seemed they got along okay. I didn't know why, though. In my opinion, Courtney was insufferable, and Bridgette was really cool. But hey, maybe she'd rub off on Courtney. Meanwhile, Harold and Sadie paired up, and so did Geoff and DJ. On the other team, Cody had grabbed Gwen as his partner, while Lindsay and Beth pulled Trent off. Izzy and Leshawna paired up, which left Heather with Owen.

We pretty easily pushed the canoe into the water, since we were both pretty strong. Cody was having some trouble, and refused to ask Gwen to help. DJ was looking worried about the canoeing, and Leshawna was pulling Izzy and their canoe into the water. Owen positively threw Heather into the canoe before pushing it in. When they got in, Owen called out "If this canoe's rocking, don't come a-knocking!"

Duncan and I watched as Heather hit him with her oar. "Poor sucker." I chuckled. "I don't think Heather will ever be into anyone."

Duncan shrugged. "She's hot, yeah, but even I think she's too mean. I wouldn't usually care, but even I have limits."

"So how mean is too mean?" I asked. "I can be mean. And don't deny that you like Courtney – it's obvious. And she can be pretty mean too."

"That's different." Duncan explained. "Girls like you and Courtney – you have attitude, but not like Heather does. At least Courtney is mean because she wants our team to win. And there's a difference between calling someone a bubble brain and reading another chick's diary out loud to the world."

"So..." I paused. "What's your deal with Courtney anyway? I think she likes you too, even if she won't admit it. But how would you get her to hook up with you?"

"Flirt. Duh. She'll respond. I bet we hook up before the teams merge."

I laughed. "Speaking of which, I call off that bet about making her lose her temper."

"Scared cause you're losing?"

"No way. Replace the bet with when you guys hook up. I say after the merge."

"You're on, sister. But don't back out of this one, too, if you think you're losing."

We kept up this kind of conversation the whole way to Boney Island. I caught snatches of conversation from the other boats, too. Bridgette was telling Courtney about this cheesy little heart-shaped bowl she found in our cabin – Geoff left it for her. Izzy was telling Leshawna some crazy story. Cody was trying to ask Gwen out. DJ was giving Geoff dating advice...stuff like that.

Finally, we arrived at the misty onimous island.

Izzy spoke up, looking at the skull formation. "Okay, did you see that skull? How cool is that? It's like this place is haunted or something!"

The Gophers almost overtook us, but not quite. We came to a fork in the road. "Which way are we gonna go?" DJ asked.

"Left." Courtney answered. "Definitely left."

"I don't know..." Geoff began, "I think we should take the one on the right."

"The right trail is wider." Bridgette agreed. Geoff grinned at her. "What are you looking at?" Poor Geoff. I felt a bit sorry for him and his flirting attempts. Then again, no girl likes it when a guy compliments her the way Geoff had back in the camping challenge.

Suddenly, just as we were walking along, Geoff stopped and fell. "My leg!" he cried. "I'm down! I'm down! Oh, it's so unfair! Why did this have to happen now? Why? WHY?"

"Geoff!" Bridgette was the first to go over to help him.

"You've gotta go on without me." Geoff choked out. Courtney tried to, but DJ pulled her back.

It was horrible. Not Geoff's leg – the way everyone was overreacting to it. That said, I went along with it. Geoff just had a splinter, but I figured he deserved to be allowed a chance to get Bridgette's attention. He obviously wasn't a bad guy – just really bad at flirting. Basically the exact opposite of Duncan – not a good guy, even though he does have a heart, who happens to have all the moves on flirting (I could tell because he tried most of them out on Courtney throughout the next two weeks).

We also had a headstart when we made the fire, since Duncan had a lighter. But it was still so small. We just needed more wood. So Harold had the bright idea to put the oars on our fire.

"How are we supposed to get home now?" Bridgette demanded. And after all that, Izzy's homemade fire starter gave the Gophers the win for the fire. But I guess we should thank Izzy. It was her idea to have one person swim behind the canoes and push them. She was telling us to do so just as she and Leshawna paddled by. I could see Leshawna scowling at her helping us, but we needed to do that.

"That might work!" said Geoff, who was finally standing again after Bridgette checked out his leg.

"We need someone big enough to push all the canoes back." she looked around. "DJ, you're the only one who's strong enough."

"You can't ask him to do that!" Geoff protested. "The dude can't swim!" I remembered DJ's look of terror when he first got into the canoe.

After that, even Geoff volunteered to do that, but after the splinter, we wouldn't let him. And you know what? DJ overcame whatever fears he had, pushed the canoes back, and won the challenge for us! Cue cheering here. The Killer Bass rule!

I sat out on the steps for awhile that night. That's how I saw the helicoper of the Royal Canadian Mountain Police. Searchlights beamed down, and a voice boomed from a loudspeaker. "Izzy, we know you're down there! You are under arrest!"

I couldn't help my gasp. What had put Izzy done to get arrested. But then I heard Izzy's voice, very faintly, from the campfire pit. "YOU'LL NEVER GET ME ALIVE!" I heard her laughing as the helicopters flew away, presumably following her. I guess she was the next gone, and I couldn't help wishing I'd gotten to know her better.

When I came in, I heard the sound of breaking glass. Bridgette's bowl – the one that Geoff gave her – had broken. She looked up. "Have any glue?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. Sorry, Bridge."

Sadie wasn't around, but Courtney turned from the mirror. "I wouldn't waste my time trying to fix that." she said.

Bridgette picked up the fragments. "Maybe I would." she murmured softly.

When Courtney left the room, I asked Bridgette a question. "So...I thought you didn't like the bowl. You looked horrified when you first saw it. And wasn't that the reason you went all cold on Geoff for awhile?"

Bridgette shrugged. "I guess I was just overwhelmed. I know what he's trying to do, but the thing is...is he really that stupid, or is it some other reason? I mean, I guess at least he was trying to be nice when he left this."

"He seems intelligent enough when I talk to him." I replied. "Not that I do much. I think he just likes you a lot and doesn't have a clue how to flirt. Try being friendly with him, even if he makes another weird comment like that one about the tent. Maybe he'll relax and stop trying to impress you all the time. That's what makes him look stupid."

 **Paintball coming up next! I'm looking forward to it. Are you?**


	10. Chapter 10

**So, shall we continue? And thank you SO much for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog!**

We had another break the next day, and then it was time for another challenge. Well, okay, first it was time for a long bathroom line. Beth and Lindsay, Heather's two little alliance members, were at the front, and Heather was inside.

"What's the hold up?" Bridgette asked.

"Heather needs her private time." Lindsay explained.

"How long's Queenie gonna be in there? I got urgent business!" Leshawna complained.

"She could still be a while." Beth said apologetically.

Gwen was next in line, and I was just behind her. "That's it." she snapped, walking off. "I'm going lumberjack style."

"Well, I'm not waiting!" I snapped, pushing past Beth and Lindsay and opening the door. "Heather, freaking finish! There's a line of girls out there and I'm not going to wait for you to finish!" I made a point of not looking at her when I noticed her halter top on the counter, but then I went into one of the cubicles and slammed the door.

And a good thing too, because Chris called us to the challenge the minute I was done.

All the breakfast we got were beans. And Owen ate all of them. "Beans, beans, they're good for your heart" he recited. "The more you eat, the more you-" He was hit by a can before he could finish.

"The more you imitate Owen." I muttered to most of the guys on my team. They chuckled. It was well known across the camp that Owen had a problem with flatulence, and was pretty proud of it, too.

"Today's challenge is all about survival." Chris told us. "You're going hunting!"

As it turned out, what we were hunting was each other – with paintball guns. Half of us would hunt and the other half would be deer. Basically, being caught meant being shot with a paintball gun. I was a hunter with Bridgette, Geoff and Harold. The Gopher hunters were Leshawna, Beth, Owen and Lindsay. The team that had the least amount of paint-splattered deer were the winners.

Duncan looked SO humiliated, having to wear antlers, tails, and noses. It didn't make him any better when Owen laughed. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing," Owen said innocently, "... _Bambi._ "

Finally, it was time for us to put our glasses on and get ready. But Bridgette was still looking down at her gun reluctantly. Harold went up to her. "Okay, you do realize that this is all just pretend, right? And that it's just paint? So say if you, like, hit Heather-"

"Wait, Heather's a deer?" Bridgette perked up.

I couldn't help grinning at my geeky teammate. "Way to motivate her...and me, actually." I grinned.

It was a really boring challenge, though, this one, at least. The four of us stuck together, sneaking around, but it was really hard to find anyone. In fact, the only deer we saw was Heather, and that was only because she was arguing with Beth and Leshawna, with Lindsay standing by. And they were already shooting each other. It seemed Beth had turned on Heather.

It happened when Geoff suddenly stopped, hearing the voices. He placed a finger to his lips, and the four of us all moved closer to the sound. That's when we saw the four girls, three of them shooting, Lindsay simply ducking. All four of us aimed our guns at the girls, and shot before they even knew what was going on.

"This is really fun!" Bridgette grinned. At that moment, Chris called us back.

There were some very interesting things happening that I didn't get to see, though. Beth had taken a bag of chips from Chef's kitchen to give to Heather before turning on her. Cody had taken the chips and ended up being mauled by a bear who followed the trail of crumbs.

"Do you know what I see here?" Chris said. "I see a very undisciplined group. I see a disgraceful mess. I see a massive waste of paint product. And, I have to say...that was awesome!" He broke out into a grin. "When you guys opened fire on your own team, wicked TV, guys!"

Harold spoke up. "Hey, where are Duncan and Courtney?" Sadie nudged him and pointed. They came up, their antlers tangled.

"Oh, this is too much." Gwen and I said in unison. We really did think alike – but on the other hand, I was the one that knew for sure what was up with those two.

"Duncan, you sly dog, you!" Owen exclaimed.

"The girl can't keep her antlers off me." Duncan grinned. Courtney kicked him in the balls in response.

But anyway, since no one on our team got covered in paint, we won. I'm willing to bet Heather was a close nominee for being kicked off, but Cody was covered in bandages and scratch marks. His team decided to vote him off for that reason. Couldn't blame them, I would've done the same.

The next day was one more break to chill. It was nearing the end of the third week already – one more challenge and we'd be back to letters day. I spent most of the day chilling with Gwen again. We had a lot to talk about.

"I still wish we were on the same team," I admitted, "But at least my team has some pretty cool people. What's yours like...minus Heather?"

"Well, Leshawna's great." Gwen said, with a little smile. "I can always count on her in challenges. And since Beth stood up to Heather, she's been pretty cool. Owen's a bit too happy sometimes, but he's cool apart from that. Lindsay seriously creases me sometimes, since she and Heather seem to be sharing a brain."

"And Trent?" I prompted. Gwen's pale skin darkened to red, and I laughed. "It's okay, I won't say anything. If you want to keep it quiet, I won't make you tell me anything either."

"So what about you?" Gwen asked.

"Well..." I thought about it. "Duncan's a lot of fun. He understands me better than the rest of my team does, which is weird. I didn't expect that, but we sort of have the same nature – we both don't mind getting into trouble, but we're not heartless. Courtney drives me nuts sometimes, though. Bridgette's really cool, and I can go to her for anything. Same with Geoff, although he's not quite as smart. But it's impossible _not_ to be friends with him, he's that cool. Harold's geeky, but he's nice enough, and Sadie's gone all quiet since Katie left, so I have no idea what she's really like on her own. And DJ's a total sweetheart."

It was truly an awful jolt back to reality when the next day came and it was back to competing. But the challenge itself was not so bad.

 **And we'll talk about that in the next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Cooking. I enjoy it, Stephanie doesn't so much. Thanks again to Gage the Hedgehog and Elizabeth Life Stone (sorry, but no – she will have a little fling with another teammate later on) for reviewing.**

The day began when the boys were complaining that Harold was leaving his gitch lying around the cabin all ( the time and wouldn't admit to it. But it didn't matter so much. What mattered was the challenge.

The group of us had to cook a three-course meal. Chris would try it and judge the best team. The first thing we had to do was choose a head chef to decide on the theme of the meal and supervise. And then we had to get the ingredients.

Geoff took one look at the van full of ingredients and said "We could do a killer Italian theme!"

"Hello, head chef!" Duncan grinned at him.

"Seriously? Then let's get grabbing!"

It was great to have Geoff as head chef, because he wasn't bossy, like Courtney would've been. When we got into the kitchen, he simply said "Okay, we've got three courses and seven people. So one team of three, and everyone else partner up."

"I know how to make pasta sauce." offered DJ.

"I know how to boil pasta." added Bridgette. They high-fived.

"Me and Sadie can rock the antipasto." Harold spoke up. "I'm like a black belt when it comes to cutting cheese." All of us started giggling. "What? _What_?"

Duncan moved his eyebrows up and down as he looked at me and Courtney. "I guess that leaves you two and me on dessert detail."

"Oh, no. No way." Courtney refused.

"Come on, Courtney." Geoff coaxed. "For the team." She submitted, which was good, because the custard pastries were pretty complicated. It also gave Duncan plenty of time to flirt with Courtney. I helped with the pasta sauce when I wasn't needed, just to give them time they could spend alone together. And also, Harold was getting some rough treatment from the other boys for leaving his stuff lying around. First, DJ spilled water on him, and he had to go and get changed.

After Harold was gone, I looked suspiciously at DJ and Geoff. "Be honest." I said. "You did that on purpose, DJ, didn't you?"

Geoff admitted to it. "We're sick of Harold leaving his stuff out around the cabin, so we took most of his shorts and stuff. We'll give them back when he admits to it."

I thought it over. Then I gave the boys the thumbs up. "Awesome!"

Meanwhile, the Gophers were working at the other end of the table. Heather had called the position of head chef, and was of course abusing her power like crazy. She wouldn't listen to anyone else.

On our side, Geoff tried to flirt with Bridgette again, and then screwed up. DJ had to rescue him.

With the dessert, Courtney watched anxiously as Duncan rolled it out and she stirred the custard. "Careful your big paws don't mash the pastry." she cautioned.

"Careful your uptight butt doesn't curdle the custard." he responded.

"Oh ha ha ha." Courtney snapped, but she was sidetracked by Harold appearing in a tiny red thing.

"Okay, who took all my shorts?"

To Duncan's credit, he was the only one who pretended not to notice. DJ and Geoff kept snickering the whole time. Even Chris, passing by to check on us, shuddered at Harold's attire. "Three hours and counting, guys." he warned.

It got worse. Next, Harold was sent back to the cabin, and ended up putting on pants with hot sauce in them. He came back in his pyjamas. "These are all I've got left. So if you sickos wanna see me butt naked, hit me with your best shot."  
"Well, stop leaving your butt bags all over the cabin and we'll back off." Duncan told him.

"I told you it wasn't me!"

"Well, I tried." And then Geoff held up some sandwiches that he'd put Harold's briefs in earlier. We all knew it, but Harold didn't, so he took a bite of one, before realizing what was in them. "Gross!" he exclaimed, dropping the sandwich.

Geoff told him exactly what he'd said to me – they'd return Harold's stuff when he admitted he'd been leaving the stuff on the floor.

Our pastries were soon cooked, and both Duncan and I were squirting custard into them. "You're both total slobs!" Courtney whined. "They all have to have the same amount of custard."

"Shut up." I muttered.

"Oh, relax, they're fine." Duncan said over me. He paused. "You know, you'd be a lot more fun without that pole up your butt."

"I'm like the most easygoing person I know!" Courtney protested.

"Oh, yeah, you're totally laid back." Duncan squirted some custard at her. In response, she threw a bowl of it on him, and then started giggling.

I laughed too. "Oh, you are going to pay for that one, girl." I picked up the bowl she'd just dumped on Duncan and tipped what was left over her. In reply, she picked up one of the things I'd been using to put the custard in the pastries and squirted it at me. By the end, the three of us had about as much custard over us as the pastries did, but who cared? At least Courtney had loosened up a little bit.

I went to the confessional before we served our meal. "At least Courtney knows how to have fun. She just refuses to, most of the time. I think I'll make another bet with Duncan – if he gets her dating him before the post merge, I'll pay an extra two bucks if he can make her break a law and turn bad girl on everyone. Anyone who's as much of a 'good girl' as her cannot be good."

Chris praised our antipasto happily, and liked our spaghetti even more. But the thing was – with the Gophers...Owen ate most of their ribs, and Chris only had a tiny piece left. And they got two points for that, at least.

Finally, it was dessert time. He tried ours first, and Courtney looked terrified. Duncan put a hand on her shoulder, and they exchanged a smile.

Chris finished tasting. "Eeh...six." he rated. Well, we did spend most of the time making it fighting, But we were very lucky. We'd have had to go to a tiebreaker if their flambe had tasted as good as it looked. But it deflated, and then Chris choked on it. "What the heck is this?"

"It's Heather's recipe!" Lindsay spoke up. Then she gasped. "Omigosh, she's still in the fridge!"

Leshawna had locked their head chef in the fridge, and although I hadn't heard everything, it _was_ Heather after all. I assumed she deserved it. She was furious when they heard they'd lost. "Great! That's just great. Why do we keep losing, people?" Then she complained about the decoration. But then again, it turned out it was a tiki statue from Boney Island. Beth hadn't heard the warning about not taking anything from it.

"I didn't know! I'll put it back!" she said. But the damage for today was done. We had won a five-star meal outside that night.

We all cheered, and Duncan even picked up Courtney, hugging her until she ordered him to put her down. While we headed off to dinner, the Gophers voted off Beth. Apparently, they thought that the tiki statue had cursed them, and the only way to reverse it was to kick Beth off the island.

The dinner was fantastic, as we expected. But just as we went back to the cabins, Duncan pulled me aside and whispered "All girls on the beach tomorrow morning. Tell the others."

I raised an eyebrow. "And this is because..."

Duncan just smirked. "Oh, you'll find out."

So the next morning, all the girls, Bass and Gophers alike, all went for a swim on the beach. There was a bunk on the beach – with Harold asleep in one of them. The other boys on our team were sitting in a canoe.

We didn't have to wait long for Harold to wake up. All of us started giggling as he got up...wearing nothing.

"Good morning, Harold!" me and a couple of others called out.

Well, this time, the boys seemed to have gotten through to him. He swore he'd never leave his briefs out again, and they returned everything they'd taken. "Pleasure doing business with you!"

 **The third week at camp is nearly over! Wow...**


	12. Chapter 12

**Let's keep going! Thanks for reviewing to Gage the Hedgehog. To lordkalel, please refer to my All-Stars fic "Bailey In Exile". Besides that, Stephanie's vote is common sense. There aren't many votes that weren't on her team.**

We got our letters early, this week. Apparently, one of our challenges in the fourth week would last a few days, and so we'd get one break before it, but we wouldn't get another one until after another challenge.

Mine was from Lisa again. They'd just gotten the Phobia Factor challenge at home.

 _Dear Steph,_

 _It's weird, seeing you on TV. I'm still not used to seeing you on our screen with all these people we don't know. Well, we're getting to know them. Also, I thought I'd give you a heads up on some of the things you should know. First, did you know about Heather's alliance with Lindsay and Beth? She keeps pulling Lindsay aside and telling her what to do. A couple of episodes ago, Lindsay saw Gwen writing in her diary. She must've told Heather, because she went looking for it, made Lindsay divert Gwen while she tried to find some information in it, and...well, you heard what she read out._

 _And by the way, it's indirectly Heather's fault everyone else voted Eva off. She took the MP3 player on purpose because she knew Eva would lose her temper over it. She wanted her off because she was a threat._

 _Second, I know you don't like Courtney, but I think she's just insecure. She felt really humiliated after she didn't conquer her fears. Give her more of a chance – she's a nice person. It's just that she doesn't want to look weak._

 _Third, what was up with you and Duncan cuddling, with Courtney on the other side of him, too? She says that she was asleep when she was cuddling so it's like it never happened. But you and Duncan have been hanging out together ever since._

 _Finally, watch out for Heather. Just so you know, she did steal that girl Eva's MP3 player because she knew how strong she was and wanted you all to vote her off._

 _Oh, and one more thing. I have my predictions. I'm pretty sure Heather's going to be staying around for some time. I think Duncan will be sticking around, and from what I've already seen, I think from each of the teams, it's either Sadie or Cody. I know Heather wants Gwen out, though._ (Well, she was wrong about Sadie, although pretty much right about Cody. But she'd forgotten Izzy and Beth).

 _About us...well, Bart says to tell you that he's got your wallet and is going to spend all the money in it if you keep saying you won't give him any of the money you win_ (Joke was on him...there wasn't any money in my wallet at that moment).

 _Mom still cries when we watch the show. Dad's getting really involved – he's even treating you as a character. I've lost count of the times Mom keeps reminding him that you're his daughter. Maggie watches the show like she's scared you'll disappear. Due warning, she won't let go of you when you get home._

 _Love Lisa_

Heather had caught cold from being locked in the fridge, and still had it the next day. I heard her threatening Gwen and Leshawna. "You think you can just lock me up in a freezer and get away with it? I am going to make you sorry that you ever met me."

"Too late." Gwen quipped.

At my table, DJ was feeding his Bunny the way a lot of animals feed their kids – by eating it and then barfing it up into their mouths.

"Ew, DJ!" I exclaimed, getting up. "I know it's natural, but mind not doing that at the breakfast table? It makes me lose my appetite." Geoff was giving him a weird look, too.

Duncan was standing by the coffee machine, looking around to check no one was looking. When we made eye contact, I winked. He shrugged and grabbed the last mug on the shelf, hiding it under his shirt.

Oops. Courtney had been looking at him, too. "I saw that!" she hissed. "How can you just steal a mug?"

"Cause it's cool looking and I don't have one. _Didn't_ have one, that is."

"But you might get kicked off!" Courtney persisted.

"Aw, and here I thought you didn't care about me." Duncan teased.

Courtney insisted she didn't, that it was all about the game. Duncan's response. "Whatever, you dig me."

"Ugh!" Courtney exclaimed. "Why do I even bother?"

"Cause you _lurve_ him." I muttered under my breath. Courtney glared at him and stalked off. I grinned at Duncan. "You know, next time she insists she doesn't like you, I'm going to be tempted to kiss you just so she gets jealous."

Duncan knew I wasn't serious, replying "No offence to you or any other goths, but I'd rather not kiss black lips."

I shrugged. "I have purple lipstick, too. But who cares? Maybe I'll just go school Harold – bet no one's wanted to kiss him." I laughed. "To be honest, if I had a crush on anyone Canadian...nah. You have any friends who's into goth girls?"

The challenge was split up into trust challenges. "The last challenge exposed a few Gopher issues," Chris said by way of explanation, "and I'm sensing a little something funky floating in the Bass pond too." Heather was sending death glares at Gwen and Leshawna, and when Duncan nudged Courtney, she pushed him to the ground. Each challenge would have two people partnered up to do the challenges. If we'd been allowed to choose for whatever challenge, I would've immediately tried to get Bridgette as a partner, but as it was, the partners were already decided.

The first challenge was freehand rock climbing, which I wasn't involved in. Heather and Gwen did it for the Gophers, and Duncan and DJ for our team.

"Excuse me, can we trade partners?" Gwen asked. "I really don't feel like being dropped on my head today."

"P-lease." Heather shrugged. "As much as I _love_ your company, I'm not going to throw a challenge just to kill you. Yet."

DJ gave Bunny to Geoff to look after while he climbed.

Apparently putting another line on Gwen's harness in order to rip her skirt off in front of everyone was good revenge for Heather. Even though Gwen hadn't been involved with locking her in the fridge. And she still won!

I took a break while Geoff and Bridgette were sent to compete in a cooking challenge against Trent and Lindsay. We won – the two girls prepared fugu, but Trent nearly died from it. Geoff survived, and the next time I saw him and Bridgette, they were hanging out together on the dock.

I went to the confessional. "So...first, I'm sick of everyone hooking up around here except me. First it was Lindsay and Tyler, and Duncan is days away from hooking up from Courtney. And it's not like I haven't noticed the way Trent and Gwen look at each other. Or Bridgette and Geoff. Let me count the boys left I could hook up with: DJ, Harold, Owen...yeah, that's all of them. DJ's a bit of a wimp, but okay. Harold's a geek, and Owen's nice, but he can be really gross. Honestly!"

The last challenge of the day was split into three. The blind William Tell, the blind trapeze, and the blind toboggan race.

"So, where's Bunny?" DJ asked Geoff. "I miss him."

Geoff instantly looked awkward. "Uh, Bunny? I'll go get him."

The idea of William Tell was to knock arrows off people's heads with apples while blindfolded. Owen and Leshawna were up for the Gophers, with Courtney and Sadie for our team.

Sadie jumped up and down. "Ooh, let me shoot! I'm a good shot!"

Courtney sighed. "You better be."

Sadie was awful. Even after Leshawna had shot the arrow off Owen's head, Sadie kept shooting. She ended up knocking Courtney unconscious (okay, I kind of enjoyed that).

Next, it was my turn, and I was partnered up with Harold. He hung from a trapeze over a pool of jellyfish, while I stood on a platform, blindfolded. Opposite me stood Heather, with Lindsay on a trapeze.

I heard Geoff tell DJ that Bunny had left, run away or something. "But I'm sure he'll be back! Sorry, dude." I didn't hear DJ's reaction, though, too focused on the challenge.

"Okay, Stephanie." I heard Harold say. "Jump now!" I jumped, but I was still hanging onto the wooden pole.

I heard Harold sigh. "If we're going to win, you've got to trust me."

"Sorry, okay?" I said. "I don't like being blind." I forced myself to let go of the pole. "I'm ready."

"Okay. One, two, three...jump!" I jumped, scrabbled in mid air, and then felt two hands grab mine. It was like flying. I let go of one of Harold's hands for a moment to pull off my blindfold, and grinned at the rest of the team.

I even grinned up at Harold. "Guess I shouldn't have doubted. You're pretty cool...for a nerd. And that's a compliment. My little sister's a nerd, too." I paused. "Well, one of them."

As for the Gophers, Lindsay called out at the wrong time and Heather got stung by jellyfish and sent to the medical tent, where Courtney was taken after she fell unconscious, and Trent went after he tried some of Lindsay's blowfish.

Then came the blind toboggan race. A blindfolded driver and a person to direct them. Geoff and DJ for our team, Leshawna and Gwen for the Gophers.

As it was, DJ was so depressed about Bunny that he wasn't bothering to steer properly, at least, for the first few minutes. Leshawna and Gwen weren't doing that well, themselves, but that was more because of erratic steering.

"Hey, DJ!" Duncan called out from the finish line. "Look who I found!" In his hands was...Bunny? Maybe it was another one, but it looked like the first. And that was what mattered.

I saw Geoff point and say something, and then DJ pulled up the blindfold for a moment, saw the rabbit, then put the blindfold down and dominated the challenge.

The only reason we lost as because of taking the blindfold off. We'd have to go to elimination again.

I debated who to vote off. It was either Courtney or Sadie, and I didn't like either of them. Who was the least helpful in challenges? I eventually decided on Sadie, in an act of kindness. She'd want to be with Katie again.

That night, it happened. My vote was the majority. Sadie stood up. "You know what?" she said fiercely. "That's fine with me, you...marshmallow-eating freaks!" She ran off, starting to bawl.

But on the other hand, she looked happy when I saw her at the dock after I left the campfire pit. She was running to the Boat of Losers, squealing happily, because...Katie was there to greet her. The two girls hugged, and the boat sped away.

Yeah, I know. I'm glad I won't have to deal with them again, either.

 **A little bit mean-spirited there, but what can I say, Stephanie hates the BFFFLs when they're together.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hm, I don't know if I should like or dislike this next episode. Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog.**

We took a break the next day. I spent it with Gwen and Leshawna, chilling out. I'd hung out with Gwen before, but I didn't know Leshawna so well, so it was a good chance to get to know her.

She turned out to be great – a bit bossy, but one of the nicest people on the island if you were on her good side. It had been her idea to lock Heather in the fridge during the cooking challenge, which also got her a few points in my estimation.

Meanwhile, Geoff and Duncan hadn't given up on playing tricks on Harold. After the trust challenge, I had decided that Harold was actually okay, but that didn't mean I couldn't join in.

"What about fishing for briefs?" I suggested to the guys. "Just get a rod, and hook it!"

The boys liked my idea, and resolved to use it when they could. And they got the chance at the next challenge.

Chef called us to the dock in the morning, and then made us stand to attention, hitting us if we didn't get it right. "Feet together!" he barked at Geoff. "Arms down!" to Duncan. "Eyes forward!" to DJ. "Head up!" to Heather.

He moved on to me. "Stop smirking! Does this look like fun and games to you?" he bellowed. The hit from his cane wiped the smile off my face, but it came back when he hit Harold for no reason.

"Oh, this is going to be a fun day." I heard Gwen mutter to Trent.

"What did you say to me, soldier?" Chef bellowed at her.

"Uh...nothing."

"And you will continue to say nothing until I tell you that you can say something!"

Chef kept yelling out orders. The challenge was his boot camp. We all had to call him Master Chief, and we would follow all of his orders. Each of us would drop out, and no day would end until someone dropped out. Last camper staying in boot camp won.

The way to quit was to go to the end of the dock and ring the bell.

Well, I could endure. I was tough. I'd faced off a psycho ventriloquist dummy and a psycho stalker crazier than Izzy. I could do this.

Geoff played the fishing trick on Harold that day. We were standing around, holding canoes above us for hours. We even missed lunch, listening to Chef tell some random war stories that sounded less plausible than Izzy's crazy stories. Anyway, Geoff risked taking his hands off the canoe to hook Harold's briefs, with Duncan and I watching.

"Time to land that fish." Duncan whispered. Geoff reeled the hook in, and Harold felt his briefs tear.

"Ow!" He looked over. I hid my smirk, but the boys didn't bother. "Idiots!"

No one dropped out until it got dark. Finally, Lindsay whimpered "Guys, I can't do this anymore. I have no more feeling in my arms!" She rang the bell, first to drop out. We threw the canoe aside.

Chef told her quietly that she had nothing to be ashamed of. "EXCEPT BEING A LITTLE BABY WHO LET YOUR TEAM DOWN! The rest of you, head to the mess hall! Dinner is served."

Dinner was trash, and we only had ten minutes before night training. I'm serious.

"Oh, I am _not_ eating this." Heather scowled as I picked pieces off a fish carcass and swallowed without letting it hit my tongue.

"Me neither." Courtney agreed.

"Don't care for today's specials, Princess?" Duncan teased her as he passed with a glass of some kind of pale substance.

"I am going to be running for office someday and no one is going to pull up a photo of me eating garbage."

As it turned out, the pale substance was kitchen grease. Duncan told Harold it was apple juice, though, so he tried to drink it. Geoff started laughing, too, so I guessed he was in on it. I couldn't help giggling, too.

"You three are so immature." Courtney scowled. "I hope you're proud of yourselves."

"Hey, don't look at me." I laughed. "I'm not the mastermind here."

"And whose idea was the fishing incident?" Geoff laughed.

"True." I admitted. "Sorry, Harold – really. Feel free to prank me just once, if you want. If you can – my little brother is pranks-crazy, so I can usually spot one."

Duncan was smirking at Courtney. "Okay, look. I know you like me, they know you like me – everyone knows it, so here's a tip: If you wanna kiss me, I might let you."

"And to think I actually thought you were nice!" Courtney scowled.

A look of fear flashed across Duncan's face for a moment. "Me, nice? Yeah, right."

"Why'd you think that?" Geoff asked her.

"Never mind, I was wrong." Courtney said quickly. "He's just as gross and annoying as he wants you to believe. Enjoy your _garbage."_ She flounced off.

Night training involved copying Chef's moves to music that I swear was the karaoke for Thriller.

"It's close to midnight, and something evil is lurking in the dark." I murmured to Gwen. She gave me a tiny smile, just as Duncan switched off the music.

"One of us drops out, we're done for the day." he told Chef.

"We're done when I say we're done!" Chef roared. "Now drop and give me twenty!" Duncan didn't even complain about the push-ups. "Anyone else got anything they want to say?"

Gwen raised her hand. "Uh, yeah. Can I go to the bathroom?" Chef sent her there with a mop and bucket.

The rest of us went back to the cafeteria. "For your next challenge," Chef said, "you will write a three hundred word essay about how much you love me. Anyone who falls asleep or fails to complete the challenge will be eliminated!"

Duncan, who was sitting next to me, began writing " _I love Master Chief Hatchet, because he is very very very very..."_ Oh, "very" smart move. But don't let anyone call me a copycat.

I began writing: _Master Chief Hatchet is one of the toughest, strongest, craziest dudes I've ever met. And I'm not gonna lie, that's what I love about him..._

I just rambled on about stuff until I'd written three hundred words, and made sure I stayed awake. Harold didn't finish, and Trent and DJ fell asleep, but I was still in. Then Chef slipped on some of Owen's drool that had dripped onto the floor, before telling us we could go to bed. Duncan made some crack.

"Do you want to run fifty laps around around this camp right now?" Chef bellowed.

"No thanks!" Courtney said, pulling Duncan away. "He's going straight to bed, aren't you?" She cornered him and whispered "What are you trying to do, get eliminated?"

"I didn't know you cared."

"I don't! I just don't want to lose this challenge! So stop being such a screw up and do what you're told for once, okay?"

Courtney left, and I stepped next to Duncan. Geoff was on the other side of him.

"She wants me." Duncan remarked.

"No doubt." agreed Geoff, bumping fists with him.  
"It's so obvious." I finished, doing my own fist bump with him. On our team, it was definitely more fun to be one of the guys.

Finished or not, we were all woken up two hours after Chef let us go to bed, to do a stupid obstacle course. Chef made us go on it until we could finish it in under one minute. "Is that clear?" He got up in Duncan's face.

"Crystal."

"If you lose this for us, I'm gonna make you so miserable!" Courtney hissed.

The obstacle course was where I quit. I went around three times, and didn't get any better. I got worse, so I figured I was too tired to go on.

On the other hand, Duncan got in worse trouble. He ended up sent to the boathouse that night.

Courtney started getting worried when we were eating gruel at dinner. "I'm going to check on him." she decided.

"You like him!" Geoff and I said at the same time.

"I do not like him!"

"Yes, you do." Geoff told her.

"Not only do I not like him, I can't stand him! He's rude, he's rebellious, and he's totally annoying!...I'm gonna go check on him."

Geoff and I exchanged glances as she left. "She likes him." we agreed, in unison again.

"Though I personally think he could do better than her." I sighed.

Geoff gave me an amused look. "You like him too."

"What?" I frowned. "No, I don't."

"I think you do. You just don't know it yet."

I gave another sigh. "Wait a minute, why am I listening to you talking about liking people, anyway? You're the one that's screwed up on flirting with Bridgette, like, three times."

"Hey, she likes me now!" Geoff defended. "It's only a matter of time before we hook up."

As a matter of fact, that evening was fun. Courtney helped Duncan escape, then both of them – yes, _both –_ stole a bunch of Chef's snacks and brought them back. The girls and guys from both teams all sat in the same cabin together, eating.

"I think I have jungle rot from that obstacle course." Owen commented.

"Ew!" squealed Lindsay. "Owen, we're eating here!"

"And what was with all those lame war stories?" Gwen laughed. "He is so demented."

"Girl, these nails were not meant for combat training, know what I'm saying?" Leshawna agreed.

"It's all crazy, this challenge." I commented. "I didn't come here to do drills."

"Seriously, if I wanted to join the army, I would have." Bridgette added.

Courtney grabbed the last ice cream sandwich, although Bridgette tried to take it off her. "Okay, I think you've had enough."

Courtney giggled, and said "Oh, no, just – just one more!" She ate it in one bite, and then groaned. "Oh. Yeah – yeah, that one was a mistake." She ran outside to be sick. Duncan followed her.

I didn't follow, but I looked out the window. Duncan and Courtney had a conversation, and then I saw it.

Courtney turned, cupped Duncan's face in her hands, and then leant in to kiss him. After she left, Geoff went out to congratulate him, and I heard a gasp beside me.

Harold was standing there, and he'd seen the kiss. "What's wrong?" I asked. "You like Courtney too?"

Harold shook his head. "The fair lady my heart belongs to knows of my affections, but she does not yet know it is me. But she will, someday soon." he said with dramatics. "No, it is not Courtney. But I am going to stand up to the injustice Duncan has inflicted on me, in the only way I know how."

To be honest, I felt like gasping, too. I'd lost that bet – Duncan had won Courtney pre-merge. And I felt a burning feeling in the pit of my stomach, rising up and becoming sour and cold. Was Geoff right – did I have a crush on Duncan and not realize it? Was I simply jealous of Courtney?

I didn't find out what happened until the third night. Gwen had eventually been the last one to drop out of boot camp. The last six had had to hang on a tree by their knees. Duncan had fallen, then Heather had quit. Owen fell on her, then Courtney couldn't stop laughing and fell. She then proceeded to tell Chef that he should take a chill pill, and continued to laugh. Finally, the head rush got to be too much for Geoff, our last player, and he fell. So we went to elimination. I had a hard time choosing who to vote for, so I picked DJ. Not because I wanted to lose him, but I didn't want to lose our new carefree Courtney, and he'd lost a challenge before.

Chris called our names, as usual. "Duncan. DJ. Stephanie. Bridgette. Geoff." There was only one marshmallow left. Harold or Courtney...

"Harold."

Courtney gasped, and shot to her feet. "What?! You guys voted for _Harold_ , over me?" All the boys looked shocked, though. I was sure I did, too.

"This is impossible! I demand a recount!" Courtney raged.

"Seriously, dude, I know for a fact there were four of us who didn't vote her off!" added Duncan.

Chris and Chef ended up having to drag Courtney down the dock as she yelled out things. "I do not concede! I do not concede!"

"Oh man, this sucks!" complained Duncan.

"I was your only hope!" cried Courtney. "I was a counsellor in training!"

But as the boat began moving, Duncan ran down the dock. "Courtney, wait!" He threw a little object to her. "I made this for you!"

"Duncan!" Courtney called out, smiling back. She looked at the object. "Okay, this is really weird and creepy, but I love it! I'll never forget you!"

I was kind of glad to be rid of Courtney, when I went back to the bunks. Not as glad as I'd thought I'd be, though. It's just...I needed to sort out if what Geoff said was right, and I'd feel weird doing that when Duncan's girlfriend was sleeping in the same room as me. But I was able to do it peacefully, and Bridgette tactfully didn't say anything to me.

 **So what do you think? Is Geoff right?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Let's continue. Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog.**

Although Chris decided to wake everyone by flying low in a plane and coming close to mowing us down, I woke up feeling well rested. I'd dismissed what Geoff had said. Of course I didn't have a crush on Duncan! I only liked him as a friend. Courtney was welcome to him – although I hoped she stayed that friendly hyper person she became after they stole all that food.

Anyway, there was no doubt left that Duncan had won our bet. The teams hadn't merged, and he'd won Courtney over. But we didn't get to talk about that until after part of the challenge.

Every challenge was individual today, and only three members of the teams participated. Chris had already chosen DJ, Geoff and Harold from our team, and Trent, Leshawna and Lindsay from the Gophers. Each challenge was extreme sports.

So Trent and DJ were basically skydiving from 5000 feet. They had parachutes. The team's job was to move a sofa bed for them to land on.

DJ looked worried, but Trent was all cool, even quoting "'Best glimpse of heaven's on the way into Hell.'"

Then, Geoff and Leshawna would ride a Canadian bucking moose. The winner would be the one who stayed on for eight seconds and didn't get thrown into a pile of laundry.

Finally, Harold and Lindsay would waterski in mud. They also had to collect five flags before they crossed the finish line, and someone from the other team would drive.

"Cool!" Lindsay squealed when the names were announced. "I can model my new bikini!"

But then, Chris showed us the reward. A mobile shower, gleaming and desirable. After all the horrors of camp showers, I was practically starting to drool at the thought of winning a chance to shower properly.

Owen, who was scoffing marshmallows, wasn't so impressed. "A shower? How about something good?"

Heather scowled at him. "Listen to me, you marshmallow-eating goof! We are going to win that shower if it's the last thing we do, got it?"

Poor Owen choked on his marshmallow.

"Shut your insult-hole, Heather." I said coolly. "It's not like you can control this one – and nor can Owen. You have to threaten anyone, you better start with someone who has an effect on whether you win or lose. Better yet, sew your mouth up so none of us have to hear what you say."

Heather shot one of her death glares at me. I had to admit, her grey eyes could freeze blood, probably.

It was time for breakfast, and that's when we found it. Well, Owen nearly ate it, then Chef found it and dropped it, and I picked it up.

It was a haiku poem – a love poem, actually. I showed it to Gwen and Bridgette.

"Whoa, some dude's crushing big time." Bridgette grinned. She looked at Gwen. "It's probably for you."

"Really?" Gwen said. "I was gonna say it was for you."

"It's gotta be for one of you." I commented. Personally, my money was on Gwen. I mean, Trent wrote songs, right? He could write poetry, and it was obvious he was into Gwen. Nice as Geoff was, I couldn't see him even knowing what a haiku was.

That was how the trouble started. Gwen remarked that "Geoff probably couldn't pronounce haiku, let alone write one."

Bridgette's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, he's just not exactly the scholarly type."

Things started getting ugly. Now the girls weren't arguing that it was for the other – they argued that it was for them.

"You know what?" I snapped. "You two keep arguing and the two guys might get turned off. Besides that, the poem could've been for me, or Leshawna, or Lindsay, or even Heather! You two quit arguing!"

As it was, the poem wasn't for either of them. They both dropped hints, but Trent just looked confused whenever Gwen said something, and when Bridgette mentioned haikus, Geoff simply asked "What's a haiku?" He also didn't have the most cultured idea of romance.

As for the challenges...well, we won the first one. DJ landed on our sofa bed easily, while the Gophers couldn't move theirs forward enough after Owen fell asleep on it, and Trent had to go to the medical tent. Again. However, Geoff didn't do too well on the moose, while Leshawna hung on grimly.

Gwen and Bridgette were still arguing. "So? Your guy's a metro with a broken back!"

"So? Your guy's a grammatically challenged skater flake!"

I finally stepped in again. "Will you two give it a rest? We've established that someone other than Trent or Geoff wrote the haiku. It's old news. Move on."

Finally, Gwen gave a sigh. "Okay. Yeah, it wasn't either of them."

"Yeah." Bridgette agreed. "Plus, we kind of just assumed it was for us." They both hugged quickly, and then all three of us agreed to find out who actually wrote the haiku. Maybe then, we could work out who it was actually for.

Now we were tied, and it was time for the mudskiing.

"I'm ready!" Lindsay sang out, all dressed up in a lime green bikini.

Heather volunteered to drive for Harold, so I volunteered to drive for Lindsay. Meanwhile, Bridgette and Gwen went to try and find out if Owen or DJ had written the haiku. They were sure it couldn't have been Duncan, because he was into Courtney, and we didn't think Harold could have done it.

Harold did fine with the mudskiing at first. Better than fine, actually. Despite Heather's crazy driving, Harold grabbed every flag and was heading to the finish line.

So what did Heather do? She tried to cut off the line, but a branch caught on Heather's halter top and tore it off. She screamed and Harold stared, hitting a rock and losing.

Then I jumped on, and started driving as crazily as possible. But I had to cross the finish line or be disqualified. I ended up crashing in anger, and Lindsay still flew across the finish line. "Sorry about that, Sophie, I just really wanted that shower!" she called back.

I didn't bother to correct her. I wasn't the first person whose name Lindsay had gotten wrong, and it was really depressing to think we didn't get the shower. Especially after Geoff's loss on the moose had sent him into a pile of unwashed socks. At elimination, he had to sit in a tree, so that the stench he'd gained didn't overwhelm us before he showered in the comunnal showers.

As for us girls, we were still trying to find out who wrote the poem. "Who could it be?" Bridgette wondered.

"Who could what be?" Leshawna asked as she passed. We showed her the poem.

"Another note from your secret admirer, Leshawna?" Chris asked.

All three of us were surprised enough to speak in unison. "Leshawna's the crush girl?"

Leshawna grinned, quoting the poem. "You three know someone else here with a booty as "luscious as an apple'?"

But the thing was, who wrote it? None of the boys had shown particular interest in Leshawna, as far as we knew.

So as usual, Chris gave us marshmallows, although he had to call through a loudspeaker to let Geoff know he was safe. Finally, there was one left – either me or Harold.

"So that leaves Harold, who bailed big for reasons unknown, and Stephanie, who also bailed big because Lindsay left her to crash in a shameless-"

"We get it, just give the marshmallow to one of us!" I snapped.

Chris shrugged. "Stephanie, you're safe. Harold, sorry dude, you're done like dinner."

Harold seemed cool about it, though. "Well, it's been fun, guys." he said.

We all went to see him off, pretty much – both teams. He turned to face everyone as he stood on the dock. "Farewell, Total Drama Island. I loved, I lost, and I saw _boobies._ What more could a man ask for?"

"You loved?" Gwen repeated.

"You're a man?" Leshawna said.

"You saw boobies?" Bridgette asked.

Harold put his luggage into the boat, and then said...

"Leshawna, I meant every word of that poem."

"Poem? That was _you_?"

"No way." murmured Bridgette. Suddenly, Leshawna and Harold were running towards each other, and they embraced.

I didn't hear their exchange, but suddenly, they were kissing. The only thing that broke them apart was Chef pulling Harold away to the boat. He waved to Leshawna. She waved back, then came back down the dock to us.

"Wait a sec." Geoff said. "So...Harold saw your boobies?"

"Can we see?" Owen asked.

I slapped Owen lightly. "Ask anyone a question like that again and I can slap a hell of a lot harder." I warned.

"Heck, no!" Leshawna answered his question. Then she frowned. "Wait a minute." She went to the edge of the dock and yelled out to the disappearing boat "Whose boobies did you see?"

We got the answer as the only absent person stepped out of the mobile shower. Leshawna was gunning for her, even when Heather insisted it was a fluke. "You think I'd actually show that dweeb my boobs on purpose?"

Gwen smiled at Bridgette and I. "Well, that's settled. 'Night."

"'Night." Bridgette and I answered, heading back to our cabin.

"I feel kind of jealous." I confessed to her later that night. "I mean, in spite of the haiku thing, you and Gwen both have boys on the island, and now Leshawna does too. And Lindsay's always had Tyler. Heather doesn't need anyone, but me...well, I kind of wish I'd met someone."

Bridgette smiled knowingly. "Did you have someone in mind?"

"No!" I said quickly. Then I sighed. "I guess. I didn't think about it until yesterday, but Geoff said he thinks I like Duncan and just don't know it. And I guess...I mean, he's fun to be around, and I do think he's really hot. You know, I like the mohawk, and he's got really nice eyes and a great smile. But he's already dating Courtney! I don't even know whether I genuinely have a crush on him or if I only feel this way because Geoff planted the idea in my mind. But either way, I have no chance."

Bridgette gave a sigh. "I didn't say anything because I thought this would happen, but I thought the same as him, actually. You guys are a good match. So what are you going to do?"

I shrugged. "Stay friends with Duncan and try hooking up with one of the seniors in my own country next semester. It's probably better this way – luckily, my contract expires once the season ends. Anyway, goodnight."

 **There you go, that's the last pre-merge chapter. Thank goodness!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Let's continue! Also, the mention of _Survivor..._ I don't own it. And the person Stephanie is talking about is Sandra Diaz-Twine, winner of _Pearl Islands_ and _Heroes vs Villains._ Gotta love the only contestant to win two seasons! Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog.**

There was another break the next day. It was the end of the fourh week, halfway through. I got another care package, this one with stuff from every member of my family: A little bag of Doritos from Dad (which I saved for a time when Chef's food was particularly unbearable), a package of macaroons from Mom (those I shared with the other campers, although Heather refused), a tube of M&Ms from Bart (again, I saved those), a compilation CD of jazz and pop music from Lisa (including a recorded track she'd played herself), and one of my diamante hairslides I'd passed on to my sisters from Maggie (I put it in, although I didn't wear hairslides much nowadays, hence why I'd given them to her).

Lisa sent my letter: _Dear Stephanie,_

 _We just saw the cooking episode. Bart loved seeing you guys covered in custard! By the way, in the confessionals, we heard that Duncan really likes both you and Courtney. He thinks Courtney's more attractive, but he's definitely into you, at least a little bit. What he said was that Courtney creases him, and he likes that. But he says he also likes a girl who's not afraid to break the rules, and who doesn't try to tell him what to do – that's the one thing he doesn't like about Courtney. It's very interesting._

 _We saw the canoeing challenge. Just to let you know, Cody was hitting on Gwen the whole way there, but when she shot him down, he tried to set her up with Trent because he knew she liked him. And DJ was giving Geoff dating advice – speaking of which, I like DJ! It's weird, though – you talk to Duncan and Geoff a lot, but DJ not so much. How come?_

 _So I was kind of right about Cody leaving, but with Izzy...I didn't see that coming. I'm guessing that in the last few challenges – if the Gophers have lost, they might finally have gotten rid of Heather, or Lindsay. If your team lost, I'm guessing Sadie's gone._

 _Mom says to tell you she's very proud of how long you've stuck it out, but she disapproves of the custard food fight. Dad's stopped remembering to root for you and is now cheering every time Owen appears onscreen. Bart teased him after he was actually looking at the screen, rooting for Owen to eat the plate of ribs. You can guess what Dad's reaction was._

 _Speaking of Bart, he wants you to win, but he thinks Duncan should be in the final two – he keeps saying Duncan is like the ultimate older brother. I personally think he's scary. How can you be so friendly with him?_

 _Maggie wants you to come home. She won't quit asking when you're coming back. I can tell you haven't been eliminated yet, because you would've called, right? We'll get a message to send you a video message if you're in the final five, but apart from that, where are you going to go after you get eliminated?_

 _We're still rooting for you. We miss you!_

 _Love, Lisa_

What Lisa had written about Maggie made me feel homesick. "I guess I know what Courtney meant by getting homesick with letters." I confided to Bridgette. "My little sister Maggie keeps asking when I'm coming home, and Mom sometimes cries."

"I miss home too." Bridgette admitted. "I keep thinking of the day I made my audition tape, when all my friends were around." She smiled. "But this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I'm going to stick it out, and to be honest, even if I lose, I'll know that I made it at least halfway and I'll have done my best, and I have a ton of friends and a great family to go home to."

I sighed. "You're so cool, Bridge. How do you do it? I'm here to win. Second place is just the first loser. Just because I make friends – that's not first priority in this game. Did you ever watch Survivor before now?" Bridgette nodded.

"Pearl Islands?" I asked.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, the winner had a good strategy. Do you remember her?" Bridgette shook her head. "The thing is, what she did was fly under the radar. If someone wanted her to vote with them, she would. She never won a single immunity challenge. She'd make friends, but she'd backstab anyone in a second to save herself. Like when one of her friends got voted off, she dumped all the fish he'd caught because she felt her team didn't deserve to eat the food he'd gotten for them after they kicked him off. Then she let her other good friend take the blame. So as long as it's not me, I'm going to vote how she did. It's basically the same thing, but without the backstabbing. I'll leave that to Heather."

I said nothing about what Lisa had said about Duncan's confessionals. He was with Courtney, and I couldn't change that.

The fifth week of challenges began, and it began with no breakfast. Chris told us that after the challenge of the day, we'd merge. And today, no one would be kicked off – and there would be a reward for this challenge. "But first, all the girls will be moved to the Gopher cabin, and all the guys will stay in the Bass cabin. Today's challenge is as old as history itself – a battle of the sexes!"

Duncan winked at the girls. Lindsay stuck her tongue out at the boys. Chris explained that once we were settled in, we'd begin the challenge, and then we'd get to eat (at which point he and Chef began snickering).

"Time to relocate! Let's move!"

Bridgette and I had to go and pack to move our stuff. As we walked along, Heather walked with us. "Wow, Bridgette, your hair looks great today, so natural! And Stephanie, you have this natural glow to your skin, it's really beautiful and makes you look _so_ healthy."

"Thanks." Bridgette and I said in unison. "I-"

"How do you guys take care of yourselves?" Heather interrupted. "You have to share your secrets."

I fell silent, while Bridgette answered "Oh, it's nothing really..."

Gwen joined us. "Watch it with this one." she warned us, narrowing her eyes at Heather. "She's trouble." Heather shot a death glare at her.

After I packed, I went to say goodbye to the guys. I knocked on their door. "Hey, guys, open up!"

Duncan answered the door, and I grinned as I spoke. "Guess I'm going to be free of you guys, now. Don't cry too hard when we beat you this week."

"You chicks'll be the ones crying tonight." Duncan said with a smirk. "You're going down."

"I'd like to see you try!" I shot back. Finally, I smiled genuinely. "It was fun while it lasted, though. Don't tell anyone I said this, but you were my favourite teammate. And don't worry, it's a compliment, I'm not saying it makes you any less of a threat to the general public."

Duncan grinned. "Okay, Steph, I get you. You were my favourite teammate, too. But it didn't make you any less of a snarky brat."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't lie, I wasn't your favourite."

"Actually, you were. What, you think I'd tell you Courtney was my favourite? She wasn't exactly the most fun to have around for most of the challenges."

I laughed. "True. Well, see you later, rival."

While I was exchanging banter with one of my ex-teammates, Bridgette was exchanging awkward goodbyes with another. Geoff had gone to the girls' side of the cabins to let her know that he'd enjoyed working with her on the team.

As the two of us walked to the Gopher cabin, we talked. "Are you worried about being new to the group?" I asked. "It's like we're the outsiders."

Bridgette shrugged. "I think we'll be okay. I don't believe in all that stuff about how well guys get along and how girls can be really catty and cliquey."

"Yeah, I agree." I said. "Well, I don't know about Heather, but Gwen and Leshawna are really nice and friendly, aren't they?"

Bridgette nodded.

"I don't know about Lindsay." I continued. "She seems nice, I guess."

But you wouldn't know how nice anyone was when we first walked in.

 **Sorry, this was mainly filler leading up to the Brunch of Disgustingness. I hope you liked it, anyway!**


	16. Chapter 16

**ight, let's keep going. Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog.**  
"Nobody's leaving until I find out who ate my pudding pockets!" was the first thing Bridgette and I heard as we came up the steps to the cabin. It looked like Leshawna and Heather were having a major fight. Leshawna was the one yelling.

"I ate them." Heather confessed coldly. "So what?"

"Whoa, pump the brakes a minute! You're so-whatting me? That's my food! No one touches my food!"

"Whatever, deal with it!" Heather snapped back. "It serves you right for leaving your junk everywhere. Especially that." She pointed at a large purple bra hanging off one of the top bunks. "That is bugging me."  
"Yeah, it'd bug me too if I didn't have anything in the front or the back to shake!"

"Yeah? Well, you've got so much junk in your trunk, your jeans should come with a trash compactor!"

"Ooh, you want a piece of this?"

"Uh-oh." Bridgette murmured. The girls looked up.

"Bridgette! Stephanie!" Heather said in a sweet voice, totally fake. "It's so good to see you! Come in, come in! Welcome to our cabin! We're like a big family in here!" She linked arms with both of us as she spoke.

"Big and dysfunctional." Gwen muttered from her place on one of the bunks.

"Anything you need, just yell." added Heather.

"Thanks for the awesome welcome, Heather." Bridgette said. I said nothing, but let the other girl drag me along.

Lindsay spoke up, smiling. "Welcome to the club! It'll be so much fun, as long as you do _everything_ Heather says. Ow!" Heather had stomped on Lindsay's foot. She laughed off the statement, claiming Lindsay's words were a joke.

Then she tried to give Bridgette the bed that Lindsay had already claimed and offered me the one nearest. She also wouldn't let either of us talk to Gwen or Leshawna, trying to keep us away from them. I gave them an apologetic look, mouthing _I'll talk to you once I've settled in and told Heather to back off._ Bridgette just smiled awkwardly and waved to them.

"This is great!" Lindsay said brightly. "I bet we're getting along way better than the guys!"

Somehow, I doubted that. I already knew that Heather wasn't as nice as she made out, and Gwen and Leshawna clearly hated her. DJ, Geoff and Duncan got along well, and I was sure they had no problems with Trent or Owen, so they were probably getting along great.

Heather started offering us her makeup and accessories, telling us we could help ourselves to them whenever we liked, but slamming the jewellery box shut when Lindsay came up.

"Thanks, Heather, but I've got all the accessories I need with me, and I only wear dark makeup, apart from foundation." I told her. "Your skin tone has a different look to mine, so what looks good on you wouldn't look good on me." I actually wore foundation to make me look paler, although I couldn't quite beat Gwen in that department – she was almost white. But I wore just as much eyeliner as her. Our main differences was that I wore purple lipstick and eyeshadow, and she wore dark blue – I remembered her telling Trent in the Awake-A-Thon that her favourite colour was midnight blue.

"Thanks, Heather," Bridgette echoed my words, "But I like to keep it natural."

Heather shrugged, taking an eyebrow pencil to Bridgette. "Like my mom always says, a lady can always use a little boost in the looks department."

"And _my_ momma told me ain't nothing free in this world." Leshawna interjected. "Watch what you take from this girl, Bridgette. You too, Steph."

"Mind your own business!" Heather snarled.

"We're a team and we gotta live in the same cabin, so this is all of our business!"

"Yeah, we're a team!" Bridgette agreed. "We should be using this as an opportunity to get to know each other better!"

I'd never seen a girl switch from nice to cold the way Heather did at that moment. "You wanna play that way? Fine! Be on their side!" She started putting down some tape to separate the bunks. "This is my side, and that's your side."

Leshawna scowled. "Yeah, that's right. You keep putting down that tape, and if you cross it, I'll smack you down!"

Heather looked at Bridgette and I. "You can choose the weird girls if you want, but just so you know, once you do, you're, like, not allowed on our side. Right, Lindsay?"

Lindsay stuck her nose in the air and went to stand next to Heather.

I shrugged, about to make my choice as Bridgette spoke. "Let's build bridges, not walls."

"Take your pick." was Heather's reply.

I took one last glance, and in perfect sync with Bridgette, I stepped over the line...to Gwen and Leshawna's side. The two girls grinned.

"You two just dug your own graves." Heather informed us.  
"Let's try to get along, okay?" Bridgette pleaded. "Otherwise the guys are going to cream us, don't you get it?" The two of us looked at each other. We quickly grabbed the free bunk – since I'd had top in our old cabin, we switched and Bridgette got the top.

Okay, did anyone seriously expect me to be with Heather and Lindsay? There was no way I'd ditch my fellow goth girl, and I was looking forward to getting to know Leshawna better, too. I was just glad Bridgette had had the common sense to stick with us. Not that I had doubted – she was the most levelheaded person who had been on the Killer Bass.

We had to go back to the cafeteria for the challenge. Chris finally explained about breakfast. The reason we didn't get any was because of the nine-course meal we were getting for the challenge. It was called the Brunch of Disgustingness.

"Each member of each team must finish each dish." Chris told us. "You will not know if the next dish will be grosser than the last, not as gross, or just as gross, just that it will likely be gross."

Whoever was finished first won the round. The winners would be the ones who finished more dishes faster.

I shrugged. I could eat anything, really. Well, I could swallow anything, as long as I didn't let it touch my tongue. Although I remember Lisa once told this story about a guy who died by choking on broccoli and had to do one good deed before St Peter let him into Heaven. Then when he finally did it, St Peter wasn't looking at the time and he was damned to Hell.

Chef spoke up. "Tell them what they'll get if they win, Chris!" Thank you, Chef!

The winners would get to spend two days at a nearby five-star hotel where they would get spa treatment, great food and shots in case they'd caught anything like parasites or something while they were here. As for the losers, they wouldn't get any food that night, and although it would be a two-day break, it would be just like any break while on the island.

At least it seemed to persuade Heather to want to be a good teammate. We were determined to win.

The first course was actually pretty easy, when you didn't think about it. For me, at least. It was meatballs – actually...beef testicles. But I could do boys were really grossed out. More than us. Trent struggled to bite down on one. DJ nearly started crying.

I finally crammed one of the meatballs into my mouth. Heather bit into one. Leshawna swallowed one of them.

"Okay, gross me right out the door!" whimpered Lindsay. "But I could totally use a pedicure at that resort. My corns are growing corns!" She kept eating.

Bridgette was still staring at her plate. Heather glared at her. "What are you doing? Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm a vegetarian!" Bridgette told her. "It's against my principles."

"Are you sabotaging the team just to spite me?"

Surprisingly, it was Geoff who stepped up to help us win. He couldn't just let Bridgette suffer through it. "It's not that big a deal." he told her. "Sometimes they castrate bulls for...uh...medical reasons." After that, Bridgette ate her portion, and we won the round.

Bridgette smiled at the blonde guy. "Thanks for the talk, Geoff."

Duncan glared at Geoff. "What, you're helping them, dork? You just cost us this round!"

"Yo, it's my business who I talk to." Geoff argued. "Give me a break, man!"

"We can't let them win!" Trent protested.

"Come on, DJ chickened out!" Geoff said.

Finally, Chris blew a whistle. "Are we here to argue, or are we here to eat a series of revolting meals?"

The boys immediately shrugged and apologized to each other. And that was it. I knew from having a younger brother that guys were pretty simple with friendships, but these five made up so easily that even I was blown away.

Next, we had pizza. Okay, that was fine. But the pizza had live grasshoppers, jellyfish sauce, and live anchovies.

"Eww, I hate anchovies!" exclaimed Lindsay.

I was more worried about having bugs and tiny fish jumping around in my mouth. Even Heather said she couldn't do it, but Gwen told her off. I finished my slice at about the same time as her. Next, Bridgette looked scared as Heather told her it was her turn.

"Go, Bridgette! Go, Bridgette!" chanted Leshawna. The blonde took a bite. "Right on, girl!"

Lindsay was up next and she was terrified. "There's no way I'm eating that! It's not even food!"

Bridgette put her hands on Lindsay's shoulders. "Lindsay! Let's try a little yogic meditation, okay?"

Lindsay nodded, still looking scared.

Bridgette demonstrated. "First, get into lotus position..."

A minute later, Lindsay was humming as she sat in lotus position, eyes closed. We fed her the slice, and she ate mindlessly.

The boys were pretty interesting to watch. Trent had an interesting method of getting the slice down. "DJ," he said, "I need you to hold me down, while Geoff, you stuff the slice in my mouth. And no matter how much I scream or beg, you have got to feed me that slice."

One minute later, Trent was struggling to get out of DJ's grip, yelling "No, stop! Wait, it was a joke! I was kidding!" He tried to laugh. "I'm warning you, my dad's a lawyer!" But he still ended up being force-fed the pizza, and helped his team in the process.

Leshawna was who lost us the round. She insisted she couldn't do it. "Little grasshopper minding his own business – what do I want to go and bite his little head off for?"

There was a tie at one all.

The third dish was a twisted version of spaghetti. It was worms with snail slime sauce. Ew! It even looked poisonous.

Suddenly, Geoff stood up. "I can't take it any more!" He ran for the door, screaming.

DJ stood up. "I'll take care of this." He got to Geoff at the door, and pinned him down painfully before convincing him to come back.

The guys won by blindfolding themselves and telling themselves they were eating spaghetti. They cheered.

"Come on, you guys." Bridgette said to us. "Let's show them some girl power!"

"Bridgette's right." Gwen added. "Let's kick some boy butt!"

"Yeah, just like I've been saying all along," Heather agreed, "We've gotta act like a team!"

"Says the girl who divided our cabin." I muttered under my breath. I didn't need anyone to hear that, but it made me feel better about not calling out Heather directly about her hypocritical comment.

Next, we had French bunion soup with hangnail crackers. We won that one. Lindsay was especially good by this time. Bridgette poured the bowl's contents into a funnel which Lindsay had in her mouth. The ditzy blonde swallowed, and then said "I didn't even taste it."

Four more courses went by, and each of us won two. We were tied with the guys, four-four. The ninth course would tie it all up, and to be honest, I was nearly full of the crud. But I was going to manage this last course if it was the last thing I did.

But then, we were served... _dolphin hot dogs._

"But dolphins are our friends!" Bridgette protested.

Heather, on the other hand, grabbed some ketchup from the middle of the table and hissed at Bridgette to eat it, since it was already dead.

Bridgette refused. "I'm not doing it! You can't pressure me!"

DJ spoke up and said he wouldn't do it, either. "I ain't eating no dolphin."

So Chris had to give us a tiebreaker.

One person from each team would drink as many shots of blended cockroach as possible. Whoever drank more won. And we didn't get to choose who did it, so I swear it was rigged.

I was picked to go up for the girls, while the guys' team ended up having Owen chosen. Fifteen little shot glasses were put in front of us and filled with blended roach.

Owen and I began downing the shots steadily, one by one. One...two...three...four...five...six...suddenly, Owen grabbed one faster. I quickly grabbed another and downed it, but Owen got the last shot glass before I did.

He won for the boys.

"Stephanie, you are completely useless!" Heather yelled at me.

I scowled. "Get over yourself, Heather. At least I tried. Next time, _you_ try drinking seven glasses of blended roach and see how fast you can do it."

Just about everyone was sick after that. Geoff and Duncan actually puked on the camera lens, and Chris looked like he was about to blow chunks himself.

The guys left that night, while Gwen, Leshawna, Bridgette and I locked ourselves in the cabin, leaving Heather to yell at us through the door to let her and Lindsay in. Gwen, Leshawna and I laughed together, while Bridgette stared out the window forlornly.

"Missing someone?" I asked her.

She looked up. "Oh. Maybe. I guess so."

I gave a sigh. "I wish we were with the boys. At least then we wouldn't have to put up with the Queen of Mean and her slave."

 **You've probably guessed that Stephanie doesn't think much of Lindsay. She may have to put up with her dad being stupid and her brother being a bit dumb sometimes, but family vs competition – she's probably not sure how Lindsay even got this far. Too bad.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Ooh, great episode! Thanks for your lovely reviews, Gage the Hedgehog. And I know the story is the same and keeps a lot of the same dialogue, but there are differences, and Duncanie...hint hint.**

The next two days were full of tension. I was pretty glad to see the boys come back. Heather and Lindsay were both reading magazines, occassionally looking up to glare at us. Leshawna was scoffing chips, Gwen was writing in her diary, Bridgette was polishing her surfboard, and I'd just come back from a confessional.

"I've been on this stupid island for a month." I complained. "More than half the competiton, and I'm here. But if half the competition is gone, why couldn't Heather be in that half? At least I'm rid of Courtney. But I kind of wish Eva was still here – actually, no, she's too much of a threat, but if she'd left later than Courtney, maybe we wouldn't have lost the Phobia Factor challenge. Mom, Dad, if you're listening, I'm not giving up on this game – it's just really annoying."

The only good thing about the days was that I got to know Gwen and Leshawna. They were both very friendly with Bridgette and I, and they let us know that Heather really was as mean as she seemed to be. Lindsay was apparently nicer than she'd been acting, but followed Heather's lead.

Then, it finally came to when the boys arrived back. They were all cheerful and full of their weekend at the resort.

"What a weekend!"

We all glared at them, but the boys refused to take the hint that we didn't care what a great time they had. We hadn't had good time at all. All six of us glared at them.

Then again, there was no need for Leshawna to throw her sandal at Owen when he offered us chocolate-covered cherry blossoms.

"Hey, I wanted one of those!" I hissed. "At least Owen brought them back!" But there was no way we could get them back. They'd fallen into the water, and Owen began to wail.

"It's okay, dude." Geoff told him. "The ladies are just a little jealous."

"Yeah, who can blame 'em?" Duncan added. "They can barely stand each other and meanwhile, us guys are tighter than family!"

Which was when Chris' voice boomed through a loudspeaker to let us know that it was from now on "every camper for themselves". The guys immediately stopped being a team.

"I am down with that!" Leshawna said, folding her arms. "Bring it on, Chris!"

"Then, get ready for this!" Chris called out through the speakers. As he spoke, a boat sped toward us, and a familiar figure stood on the deck.

We all gasped.

"What? But that's impossible!" I heard Heather whisper.

"Oh, man, what is _she_ doing here?" Trent murmured.

I turned to smirk at Heather. "I'll make sure that she pays you out for what you did to her."

"Back by popular audience demand," Chris announced, "It's...Eva!"

My ex-teammate jumped off the boat. "That's right." she said. "I'm back. And just so we're clear, not only am I gonna kick butt, but I'm giving special attention to my backstabbing Bass team who voted me off!" She glared at my other ex-teammates with fire in her eyes.

"I didn't!" I protested. "I voted for Courtney, like we planned!"

"I know." Eva muttered, still scowling fiercely. At least, her anger wasn't directed at me.

"Wait a sec!" Gwen called, looking up at the loudspeaker. "You said no one was allowed back!"

"I did?"

"'And once you leave...'" Gwen quoted.

"Oh yeah, that." Chris replied. "Yeah. I lied."

"You can't do that! It's not fair!"

But there were more pressing matters at hand than whether it was fair on us to bring Eva back. The girl looked like she was about to kill someone. Most probably Bridgette.

"So, Eva," the blonde said nervously. "What've you been doing since you left the island?"

"Taking anger management classes. I seem to recall _you_ thinking I needed them!" Poor Bridge. She was in for a tough time. Then again, probably Duncan, Geoff and DJ were too.

"She was an audience favourite?" Heather hissed at the loudspeaker.

"Not really..." Chris admitted. "But we liked her!" He didn't even pause as he introduced one more person. "Also returning to camp, it's...Izzy!"

"Oh, no!" exclaimed half the campers. But I grinned, as a scream of crazy happiness rang out, and the psycho redhead landed on the dock.

"Hey, guys, it's good to be back at camp! Although I never actually left the island. I've been living in the woods all this time!"

As it happened, the RCMP lost her. According to Izzy, she'd hidden with a family of beavers and lived with them for the last...two weeks, was it? She even started scratching herself with a foot like an animal as she said "Boy, I could use a bag of nachos right now."

"You and me both." I muttered, smiling slightly.

Izzy let out a howl, again, like an animal. "So, what's new with you guys?" she asked. But before we had a chance to answer, the loudspeaker told us to report to the amphitheatre. But beforehand, the two returnees had to claim a bunk.

Heather ended up taking the tape off the floor after Eva wanted to know why it was there, and then offered the scary girl her bunk. As it was, Eva demanded to have the one Bridgette had already claimed. Izzy didn't seem too bothered.

However, Leshawna stood up for Bridgette. "Okay, you know what? You can get all up in her face, but don't forget, we are all here to win."

"You got that right, Sister Thunder-Thighs." Eva responded.

"Oh, oh, oh, tell me the macho momma with butt-cheeks tighter than my weave did not just say that!"

"Whoa, time out!" Gwen and I called out.

"Can't we just talk this out over low-cal snacks?" Lindsay suggested.

"Whatever." Eva muttered. "I'm still gonna win!"

Okay, I'd taken Eva's side last time, but there was no need for her to take the votes so personally. This time, I was on Bridgette's side, along with Gwen and Leshawna.

I was still going to vote off Heather first, though. If one of them got immunity, though...no contest.

This time, the challenge was torture. No, seriously. That was what we had to do – brutal tests of endurance. The winner would get immunity and a new trailer to take home.

Basically, Chris would spin a wheel to find out what we had to do for ten seconds. And Duncan was first.

The wheel landed on a sihouette of turtles. Duncan had to stand in front of a goal net, while Chef threw snapping turtles at him. But he took the ten seconds, and Chris called Lindsay up. Meanwhile, I tried to pretend I wasn't listening to Gwen and Trent talking, even though Gwen was right next to me. Apparently, she was still mad because Trent had left her buried alive for longer than five minutes when the mime came after him. I think they made up, though, because after Trent told her she was the last person he'd leave buried alive if he had the choice, Gwen remarked on how sweet that was.

Lindsay had marshmallow face waxing as her torture. "Oh, I so need this!" she said, oblivious to what awaited her. "I've been dealing with nasty razor stubble for weeks! Try not to wax off my tan, okay?" But seeing her face covered in sweet wax was pretty terrifying. Although, when it came off, her first reaction, besides the pain was "Oh my gosh. I can't believe how smooth that is! Thanks, Chip!"

"It's Chris." the host corrected her. But Lindsay was allowed to choose the next competitior. At first, she didn't want to, but Eva grabbed a lock of the blonde's long hair and whispered to her what to say.

"I choose Bridgette...with lake leeches...cause she's a backstabbing lowlife traitor." Lindsay said, with no expression. When Eva whispered something else, Lindsay attempted to growl. It was just lucky for Bridgette that Geoff offered to stand in for her, otherwise, she would've been eliminated from the challenge, since Geoff didn't do the ten seconds and was the first one out. If he had done it, though, Lindsay would've been eliminated.

There were a lot of tortures. I can't run through them all, and I only got one to do before getting eliminated – sitting in a bathtub full of angry crabs. I took all the pinches for ten seconds, but then I chose Heather to take the next spin, and she did her torture, eliminating me.

Soon enough, there were only three people left; Leshawna, Eva, and Izzy. Izzy especially was doing well. She got electrocuted with eels, and all she did was giggle and then say "That was great! Hit me again!"

"Izzy, who's your next victim?" Chris asked.

"Ooh, ooh, me, with the poison ivy spa treatment!" Izzy said enthusiastically. They let her, but that was a lose-lose situation. Do it and lose because she chose herself. Lose and get eliminated because she couldn't do it. As it was, she did it, and claimed that it felt great.

Our winner? Leshawna. She took the sudden death round and beat out a circus bear on a log roll. "Ha! And that's how I roll!"

That night, we'd run out of marshmallows (to Owen's despair), and Chris told us he'd reviewed the confessionals. "There's lots of hate-on in this group! Which is awesome! While I normally protect your privacy, in the spirit of airing your laundry, I'm gonna go live with your confessionals!"

Okay, no one was safe now. As it was, Chris aired mine first. "Pack your bags, Heather. I'm not sure how you made it this far, but get lost. Oh, and let everyone know that you were the one who stole Eva's MP3 player in the first place in hopes of making her lose her temper." I glanced over. Eva was scowling straight at Heather now, who looked terrified. My work was done.

Heather's vote was next. "Since Leshawna's immune, there's no other choice but ragaholic Eva."

Eva's glare intensified.

Duncan had voted the same way I did. "I vote for Heather, because I know she's behind Courtney getting kicked off. You'll pay for that, toots." His face on the screen softened as he said the next words to his absent girlfriend. "If you're watching this on cable, I miss you, babe."

I gave a sigh. Why did Geoff have to tell me he thought I had a thing for Duncan? No matter how it started, I couldn't ignore it now.

Gwen was next. "Eva's a freak, so see ya."

Bridgette. "Please, please, Eva. I'm _so_ glad you never air these."

DJ. "Eva's nuts. Sorry, girl."

Geoff. "It's gotta be Eva, unless I can figure out who snagged my other lucky hat."

Lindsay, who was still rubbing her hand over her waxed face. "I just can't get over how smooth this is! Oh, and I vote off Ava, because she's scarier than Heather, Laquisha, and Gwen combined." Wow, she'd managed to get half the names right. She'd only called me by name a few times, and only once had she gotten it right. I later on told her "If it's easier to remember, you can just call me Steph. Okay? I hate being called by the wrong name."

Eva had her confessional shown, but it was the last one. "Unless they wanna leave in body bags, they better _not_ say my name. I vote for Heather."

In any case, Eva was gone. "This isn't the end of me!" she shrieked. "You better watch your backs! I'm not done! I'll get my revenge!"

She was taken to the Boat of Losers, still yelling, in a straightjacket. "I'm not done with you! Oh, and Izzy lied! She wasn't in the woods! She-"

"Wow, she has issues, huh?" Izzy laughed. "Party in Leshawna's new crib!"

But even then, while the party happened, I whispered to Izzy "What did Eva mean? Were you really somewhere else?"

Izzy shrugged. "Why would I lie? And if I did, I probably couldn't tell you where I was. I mean, if I was somewhere else. Which I wasn't."

Okay. Izzy was weird, and a little bit nuts. But that night, I started finally getting to know her, and by the end of the night, we were firm friends.

What can I say? Crazy people were fun.

 **Yes, I always intended for Stephanie to make friends with Izzy! She's #13 on my contestant rankings, and she's not the first psycho Stephanie has befriended.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Ugh...Heather's worst moment is, no doubt, in this episode. By "worst" I mean, this was her at her cruelest. "Worst" as in WORST was when she hid the immunity statue in All-Stars, not bothering to check if anyone was watching. And then _telling_ Alejandro she'd found it, metres away from where she'd hidden it!**

 **Thanks for reviewing, Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart (like the new name) and Gage the Hedgehog!**

Leshawna slept in her trailer that night, and the next. We had a break scheduled before the next two challenges, which I spent hanging out with my friends on the island. And drawing. I had a sketchpad with me, but I hadn't drawn anything since I got here (Gwen had a bigger one with her, which she drew on more frequently). That day, I managed to draw every contestant, plus Chris and Chef, although I had to draw on half of the others from memory (and Gwen wouldn't let me draw her – she spotted me looking at her and drawing, then calmly asked me to rip the page out – so I had to redo her without being able to watch her).

It was great to be sharing a cabin with Gwen, since we could hang out all the time. Obviously, I had to give her some space sometimes, but when she didn't, she was fast becoming my closest friend on the island. Well, almost.

I talked to Bridgette and Leshawna a lot, too. They were both great, and it was nice that us Bass girls had been accepted onto that half of the Gophers' group. Heather didn't put down any more tape, but we all knew that messing with her wasn't a good idea. She was also mad at me after I voted for her.

Izzy wasn't on either side of the girl fight. She seemed to like everyone, even Heather. Although she did tell wild stories and was a wanted criminal, I still hung around her. She was fun, and that's what mattered.

Any time I wasn't hanging out with the girls or alone, I talked to the guys. I knew my team pretty well by now, but I didn't know Owen and Trent that well. Luckily, they were just as nice as the others. Owen was basically like a teddy bear, cuddly and nice to everyone...except most teddy bears didn't hug the life out of people when they were happy. "I bet you'd get along with my dad." I remarked to him. "You both have the same hobby...although," I said, looking at him carefully, "You look more like him when he tried to get out of exercise by gaining weight. Just with more hair."

Trent was more laid-back, but he was cool. By the end of the day, the only people I hadn't made friends with were Lindsay and Heather. Okay, so I had no problem with Lindsay, apart from the fact that she was dumber than Dad. But as long as she kept trailing along after Heather, I wasn't going to try to be nice to her.

I still liked Duncan the most out of everyone on the island. He was on my mind most of the time, and I wished more than ever that I hadn't been left to work out if I liked him or not for myself. In fact, I actually managed to find Geoff on his own for once (very rare occurrence for the most outgoing guy there), and asked the question that had been burning in my mind.

"Why did you have to tell me that I was into Duncan? Now he's always on my mind! It wasn't like this before!"

"Hey, chill, Steph!" Geoff said, holding up his hands in defense at my tone. "I figured that you should know if you liked someone, and it was obvious to everyone except you."

"Everyone?" I frowned.

"Well, Duncan probably doesn't know." Geoff admitted. "As far as he's concerned, Courtney is the only girl on the island who liked him. If he does know, he hasn't said anything to anyone else, but he was pretty vocal about Courtney being into him. But DJ definitely has some idea, and I haven't asked, but I'm sure Bridgette can see it too."

"Yeah," I sighed, "I told her what you said and she said she thought so, but didn't say anything. But the thing is, should I tell Duncan? I mean, he's got Courtney now."

"It's your decision." Geoff said. "But I won't say anything if you don't want me to."

I smiled. "Okay. Sorry about yelling at you before, Geoff. Thanks."

The next day, I went for a swim early in the morning. But just before I got out, I heard a splash, and suddenly, my hair was soaked and Trent was a few metres away from me.

"Hey, watch where you're diving!" I called, splashing him. We ended up having a minor water fight before we got out. I went back to the bathrooms with my towel to get changed, while Trent lingered on the dock. Gwen was a little way away with her sketchpad, and as I left, I heard Trent calling to her "Hey, beautiful, what're you sketching?"

"Nothing!" I heard Gwen reply. She sounded a bit nervous.

I went to the confessional afterwards. "If I was watching this at home, I'd already have started shipping Gwen with Trent. I mean," I held up my little book of sketches that I'd brought with me. "I've drawn everyone. The next thing I should do is draw them together. What would the internet call it? Tren...no, that's just Trent without a T, doesn't work...Gwent! I know Gwen won't say anything, but she obviously does like him."

Our challenge was pretty easy. Chris was doing a pirate theme. Basically, we each got a picture on a plank of wood. We had to find where the picture led us, where there would be a key to a treasure chest. We needed to find a way to grab the key, and then we'd return back and open one of the treasure chests Chris had. One of them would give the person with the key invincibility. And he told us all this in a fake pirate accent.

Owen looked at his clue. "A...a..bear?" he stammered.

"I was hoping you'd get that one, dude." Chris told him, dropping his accent for a moment.

Okay, you know what I had to do to grab my key? Climb halfway down the cliff we'd dived off on the first day, then take the key from a ledge and climb back up. I was lucky to make it up alive. And it took me an hour and a half to do it at all!

That's how I ended up seeing Heather, Izzy (with a snake wrapped around her) and Lindsay (stung all over) standing on the dock, talking. I sneaked under the dock to hear what they were talking about..

"We've gotta break up Trent and Gwen." I heard Heather say. "Here's the plan: Lindsay, I need you t-" she stopped. "What happened to you?"

"Izzy tried to help..." Lindsay murmured. "Bees stinging...terror..lost keys..."

I didn't bother to listen any further. No matter what had happened, I needed to ask Gwen or Trent.

I found Gwen only an hour later, coming out of the cabin. "Gwen, I heard something about you." I said. "Someone was talking about you and Trent being together. Is that true?"

Gwen blushed, the red looking so unnatural on her pale skin. "Well, he helped me get my key." she said hesitantly. "And...I might have...kissed him...and then I got this letter from-" She was holding up a letter, just as Lindsay came running out of the cabin, screaming.

"I should warn you, though." I said after Lindsay had gone. "Heather was talking about breaking you two up. I don't know what she's planning, though."

We soon found out what she was planning. The letter, supposedly from Trent, told Gwen to go to the dock about an hour before we would be called back to open the chests. I was hanging out alone, about half an hour before we were due to go back to the theatre, when Leshawna came running up.

"I'm getting out the word." she said. "We need you to help us vote out Heather. She's been playing around with Gwen's boy Trent."

"I knew it." I muttered. "What happened?"

"Gwen told me that she got a message to go to the dock, and the first thing she saw was Heather and Trent locking lips." Leshawna answered, scowling. "Even if one of them gets invincibility, the other is history."

I gasped. Of course, it probably would've been Heather who kissed Trent, but why would he have let her? "Who else have you told?" I asked.

"I found Geoff, Bridgette and Duncan so far. If they and us vote, we only need two more people to make it a definite thing."

"Make sure Izzy knows what Heather's like." I said. "I'm pretty sure Heather's trying to recruit her. I'll try and find some more people to vote the two timers off, and I'll talk to Izzy if I see her first."

I didn't find anyone before Chris called us, though. All twelve of us arrived at the same time. Izzy still had the snake wrapped around her.

"Izzy, you've got a snake on your head." Duncan informed her.

"I know, but don't worry, he's friendly." Izzy said. The snake bit her forehead. "See? Kisses!" Then she fell over.

Owen turned up, halfway inside a bear, and then his key wouldn't open any chests. They had to sedate the bear and Owen in the end.

Heather had a great reward. "Oh, and look!" she exclaimed. "An invincibility pass! Lucky me."

That decided what the vote was going to be.

Chris didn't even try to create tension, that night. He just threw the marshmallows to each of us, until the plate was empty...and Trent had no marshmallow.

"That's right!" Leshawna spoke up. "Take your two-timing ways back to where you came from!"

"What?" Trent gasped. "But I thought I was getting along so well with everyone."

"I guess you were wrong." Heather said coolly.

Gwen glared at her. "You don't even care, do you?"

"Hey, just playing the game."

Trent scowled at Gwen. "Why should you care? You think I'm a cliché."

That was news to Gwen. "Where'd you get that from?"

"Her." Heather. She smiled slyly.

Gwen looked back at Trent. "You know, even after all this, I still didn't vote you off!"

"Then how'd I get the boot?"

"My bad." Leshawna said. "I jumped the gun on that one. Told everyone to turf out you or Heather."

"But tonight I'm invincible." Heather smirked. "So that leaves poor old Trent here."

"Which means that Heather lied to you and then kissed you in order to get you and Gwen to break up." I told Trent. "Is that why you let her kiss you?" Trent gave a nod.

"Looks like we got played." Leshawna concluded. "Sorry."

"Oh no!" Gwen cried.

"It's okay." Trent told her. "Whatever happened, happened. At least we know that we're still okay. We're still okay, right?"

Gwen managed a smile. "Yes."

Trent gently touched her face. "I want you to be tough, and fight to the end, for both of us. I'll be watching and cheering for you back home."

Of course, Chris waited until their lips were a centimetre apart to ruin the moment. "Trent, you have an appointment at the Dock of Shame and a ticket for the Boat of Losers!"

It was sad to see Trent go, although I hadn't known him well. Heather left to go to the showers, while Leshawna went to change the pipes. Me? I tore up some of Heather's clothes and hid a pair of her shorts and one of her halter tops under all my black clothes.

 **That's the end of that chapter! Anyone else hate Heather now?**


	19. Chapter 19

**Right. Let's keep going. Thanks for your review, Gage the Hedgehog!**

I kept away from Heather for most of the next day. It was another challenge day, then we'd have a break where we'd get our weekly mail. But in the morning, I overheard Lindsay and Heather talking.

"I cannot believe that Stephanie shredded my clothes!" Heather snapped. "She is so going to pay for this." I smirked.

Lindsay didn't look up at her as she said "Well, you _did_ steal Gwen's boyfriend. That's pretty major." She was drinking grape soda that Heather had gotten in her reward.

Heather's reaction to Lindsay's words was to try the soda, then throw it away, snapping "How could you drink this sugar water?"

I was glad to see that Lindsay actually did have something in her mind other than fluff. Maybe I could convince her to ditch Heather before the sixth week was out.

Yeah. Some hope.

I went back into the cabin with Gwen and Leshawna. Leshawna was telling Gwen that she had to stop thinking about Trent.

"I know." Gwen admitted. "I just miss him so much already."

"Well, baby girl," Leshawna grinned, "Nothing heals a broken heart like revenge." This made Gwen smirk, and I'm sure if I'd looked in a mirror, our expressions would have matched.

Today's challenge was basically hide-and-seek. We got ten minutes to hide before Chef came looking for us. When he did, he'd shoot us with his water gun. Well he'd try. The lifeguard chair was home base, so we needed to try to get there first.

Okay, the water gun didn't seem scary. Duncan even said so out loud, but then Chris asked Chef to demonstrate.

Chef aimed and fired at the host, sending him about 500 metres away.

"NOT ON ME, DUDE!" Chris called out, totally drenched.

There were three ways to win. Either don't get found, get to home base, or to find someone else and turn them in to get invincibility.

When it was time to run, everyone shot off in different directions. I heard Lindsay screaming, running later than everyone else.

I headed for the woods. Somewhere where I could easily see Chef coming and change my hiding place if he looked there. I spotted a cave near where I hid, but if I went in there, Chef would have me cornered. Instead, I jumped behind a bush that was thick in one place, but sparse enough so I'd be able to see Chef coming.

That's how I saw Owen passing by the cave, and being pulled in.

I edged as close as I could, straining my ears to hear what people were saying.

"Hey, guys, great hiding spot!" I heard Owen say. Who else was in there?

"Listen up, boys. We're in trouble." It was Duncan's voice. "There are seven chicks on the island and only four dudes."

I heard Geoff's voice next. "I know. Nice odds!"

But according to Duncan, this was not good for them, because at some point, we'd notice it and start picking off the guys. Hm...interesting idea. I would be all for allying with Gwen, Leshawna, or Bridgette. Probably Izzy, too. But did they honestly think I'd work with Heather or Lindsay?

To be honest, I'd rather vote with the guys than vote with Heather's little alliance.

"It's not like they're exactly getting along." I heard DJ say. His voice was the softest, so it was harder to hear him. "Remember this morning?"

I did remember. Leshawna and Heather were doing their makeup while Gwen and I were in the showers. Next thing we knew, the water from my shower went freezing cold, and Gwen was screaming due to boiling hot water. Then we heard a slap, and the water went back to warm. Heather had turned the taps on, and Leshawna had retaliated for us. The boys must've heard the fight.

Geoff wasn't sure about being in a group with the guys. Apparently, he didn't want to be in an alliance without Bridgette.

Duncan argued back "Let me tell you something about women – they're all sisters. And when push comes to shove, they're gonna stick together. Haven't you ever seen a chick flick before?"

Owen wasn't too sure, either. I had to jump back when the boys went out, and Duncan hung Owen over a six-foot cliff upside down until he agreed. I know, not too impressive, huh?

After they all agreed (and I'd stored up this information for later, Duncan kicked the other boys out of the cave. At least I knew where he was, so if Chef caught me...

Surprise surprise, Chef did catch me, but only after he'd found Heather, Lindsay (both found in the kitchen), Bridgette (covered in skunk spray), Izzy (who later told me she was following Chef the whole time and got caught when she sneezed), Owen, DJ (both caught by Heather on the cabin roof – she had invincibility), Gwen (under some grass), and Geoff (up a tree).

After Chef sprayed me, I sighed, my shirt sticking to me and said, "Okay, since I want invincibility...if Duncan's in that cave over there, I get invincibility."

And he was still there, so yeah, I was staying on. At the same time, Owen accidentally told Gwen about the guys' alliance.

Leshawna was the only one not caught. By the time we got back to the dock...

"What took you so long, sugar?" Leshawna was sitting at home base, having won.

Okay, so I should've gone into the girls' cabin to vote with them. But this was a game, so I approached the boys first. With my vote, they had to win, since Heather and Lindsay would definitely not vote the same way as the rest of the girls. It didn't matter if Izzy voted with them or not, but if she didn't, that would create a four-four tie.

So I went up to the boys at the dock. "Hi, guys." I said sweetly. "I was thinking, since I have invincibility and you can't vote me off, I thought I'd go with your pick. I like most of the girls, but it's a game. Tell me who to vote for, and I'll do it." I knew Heather was immune, but I liked everyone else, even Lindsay.

I had to threaten the boys to get them to let me join. "Why would I want to tell them anything? And besides, if you don't let me join, Duncan, I'll tell Courtney about our little bet about you hooking up with her." That got me in. I didn't use blackmail much, but in this game, I had to.

The boys decided that Bridgette would be the best choice to vote off. And although I was in, they wouldn't listen to me when I suggested Izzy.

Well, except Geoff. "Yeah, that girl is crazy skilled. I agree with Steph." But that was only because he had a thing for Bridgette.

"So it's agreed." Duncan finally said. "We vote off Bridgette."

"No, wait!" Geoff protested again. "She could still be an asset to us."

I shrugged. "After what those skunks did, it might actually be a kindness. She's taken like five showers already and it won't come off. If she went home, at least she'd have access to tomato juice. That's good for skunks."

Geoff glanced over at Bridgette, who was sitting on the steps of the girls' cabin. The other girls wouldn't let her in.

At that moment, she saw Geoff looking over and waved. Geoff waved back before turning to us. In a last-ditch attempt, he said "Why don't we vote Heather off? She's got dirt on all of us, dude."

I rolled my eyes as Duncan answered. "Because we can't. She's got invincibility again. Besides, everyone likes Bridgette, and she's great at sports. We might not get another chance, dude. All in favour of booting Bridgette?" He put one hand in the middle. DJ and Owen put their hands in.

I hesitated. Bridgette was my friend. But then I put mine in too. Geoff was the only one left.

"That settles it." Duncan said. "Here's to the guys'...plus Steph, I guess...alliance. Geoff?"

There was a pause, before Geoff finally put his hand in too.

The final three, apparently, got a lot of votes. Some of the girls, I noticed, had chosen Owen, and the others had picked Duncan. But of course, both of the guys were called. Bridgette was left on her own.

"Okay, that was a shocker." Chris stated. "Even I'm shocked, and I knew the answer!"

It was sad to see Bridgette trudging down the dock, surfboard on one arm and her bag on the other.

"Bridgette, I'm gonna miss you!" Geoff called out.

Bridgette's face lit up a bit. "Me too! So you didn't vote me off?"

"No way!" Geoff said.

"You _didn't_?" Duncan repeated.

Geoff completely ignored him. "I could never vote you off, babe. You're my girl!"

"Awww, I believe you!" Bridgette called back. Suddenly, they were walking towards each other, about to kiss, but...

The skunk spray got in the way. Geoff couldn't have liked the kiss with that wafting around. He retreated, calling "Okay! Bye!"

That night, Geoff paid for it. The rest of the guys and I had him tied upside down in a sleeping bag. I gave him an apologetic smile before going back to my cabin. "Sorry, but either you lied to us, or Bridgette. Don't care who, but I'm not the one running this alliance."

When I went back to the girls' cabin, though, the atmosphere was cold. "Come on, guys," I said pleadingly, "I had to vote someone out! Face it, you guys are going to have to vote out someone you like later on, too." I fixed Heather with a glare, telling her "I'll be looking forward to the day when we can say goodbye to you. But meanwhile, I have to vote for people I like."

"I know what you mean!" Izzy said. "I mean, I like Bridgette and all, but I still had to vote for-"

"Wait, you voted for her too?" Heather interrupted.

Izzy laughed. "Of course! You think I wanted that skunk spray wafting around our cabin? No way, it was kinder to let her leave! There was no way I was going to vote for Owen!"

I should've known that was Heather's idea. I don't know why, though. Duncan was way stronger as a player

 **So that's the hide and seek episode! That's what happened. Hope you liked it!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A break, and a bike! Oh, wait...the bike is next chapter. Sorry. Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog and Guest.**

The next day marked the end of the fifth week, and I got another letter. This one was signed by my whole family, but the bulk was written in Lisa's neat curly handwriting, as usual. Inside was another letter – in my best friend Tasha's handwriting! I would've gone to sit on one of the stumps outside, but the one I usually went to was near the outhouse confessional, and Geoff had locked himself in, crying over having voted off Bridgette (see, he was totally lying about having not voted for her). So I sat on the cabin steps. Luckily, I'd stopped feeling like an outcast because of voting with the guys. Gwen and Leshawna were still friends with me, Izzy had never stopped, and Lindsay seemed to have forgotten and was her usual bubbly self.

 _Dear Steph,_

 _We've just seen the gross meal episode. I thought I was going to be sick. Even Bart cringed when Heather took a bite of the first course. Dad scoffed, though. He'd eat pretty much all of those things without noticing how gross they were. Then again, even Owen seemed to have trouble...although, gotta say I was impressed at how much blended roach you were able to drink, even though you lost. And you should introduce me to Bridgette after the show. I wouldn't have eaten dolphin hotdogs either, even for a five-star hotel!_ (Lisa was a strict vegetarian, same as Bridgette. She wouldn't even eat fish).

 _So you guys voted Sadie out after the trust challenges? I'm kind of surprised she stayed around for so long. Did she cry a lot off-camera? I know you can't answer that, but tell me when you get home._

 _Also, just so you know, Harold rigged the votes to get rid of Courtney. I know she didn't really deserve it then, but he wanted to get back at Duncan for picking on him all the time. Don't tell him that, though, please! Harold doesn't deserve any more abuse. He's a good guy, deep down. And not much to say about that._

 _Now you guys have merged, my prediction is that Heather could be next. Do any of you even like her? She's a good player. If she can get out of it, though, probably Gwen – she's already won several challenges for her team. Or Leshawna. Or Duncan._ (Boy, was she way off!)

 _Bart's still rooting for you and Duncan. Dad's decided that Owen's going to be in the finals...maybe. If I was to predict the final two now, sorry, but I don't think you'd be in it. I think Geoff or DJ might make it, because everyone likes them. If Leshawna hasn't gone yet, I think she'll be in the final three, at least._

 _Love, Lisa_

 _PS: Enclosed is a letter from your friends. Don't forget to read that next!_

And everyone else had written their names. Even Maggie knew how to write her name by now. In fact, her handwriting was better than Dad's.

Next, I opened the other page, the one from Tasha. This one read:

 _Hey Steph,_

 _We all miss you, girl! If you don't come back with the cash, we are going to be so mad!_

 _I'm the only one who gets the channel, so I record every episode and we all watch it, and we're all making predictions. I have messages from everyone._

 _Mel said she's missing you a lot. She thinks you and Gwen are going to be in the final two, but if you don't, then it'll be Heather. By the way, we all hate Heather, just so you know!_

 _Sunshine wants Heather to go next, and then Duncan. I told her that he's probably going to go far, but she doesn't want to see it. She also has a crush on DJ. She wants Bridgette and Trent to get into the finale, but thinks that they won't._

 _Azure thinks Duncan is actually really awesome, and wants to see him in the final two. She wishes Izzy was still in the game, but meanwhile, she thinks Leshawna might get to the finale._

 _Laura has been shipping Geoff and Bridgette since the trust challenge, although she's also got a crush on him. She also has a soft spot for Lindsay. I'm not sure why._

 _As for me...you and Gwen should be in the final two. Totally! Come back to the US with that money! We're all rooting for you!_

 _Love Tasha_

 _PS: Pretend Heather doesn't exist outside of the bonfire ceremony. In that case, keep voting for her._

Apart from letters, we all hung out around camp together. I was still struggling with my crushing-on-Duncan situation. Eventually, I found him with a couple of the other guys, and dragged him off with no explanation. Geoff, who had come out of the confessional long enough to see that, gave me a thumbs up, knowing what I was going to do.

I didn't stop until we were at a little clearing, secluded in the woods. "Sorry about that, but I had to tell you something, and I figured that if you end up leaving me here while I cry, it would be better to do it here."

"Well, I'll be sure to let the others know if I _do_ make you cry." Duncan laughed.

I blushed. "Okay, okay. But seriously, my little sister's been writing to me, and she said that she thinks you...well, like me. But you've got Courtney. What's up with that?" I paused, and then said "And I mean, in all seriousness. What do you actually think?"  
Duncan gave a sigh. "Here it comes...fine, I think you're fun. And I like that you're not afraid to break the rules and are pretty cool with things. And I know you like me. You're not as subtle as you think. As for Courtney...yeah, I do get frustrated with her sometimes – she can be really bossy. And yeah, I know I kissed her and gave her that skull, but truth be told, I still haven't decided. I figured if I decided you were worth it, I could break it off with her when we saw each other after the show ended. But don't expect an answer, cause I won't have one for at least another week. I'll definitely have decided by the end of the show. And you'll be the first person I tell."

I grinned. "Well, if Courtney got a kiss, then..." I said teasingly.

Duncan grinned back. "Actually, she kissed me."

"Well, then, I should get a chance to kiss you." I reasoned. He couldn't get away with it that easily.  
"Courtney wasn't wearing purple or black lipstick." Duncan pointed out.

I grabbed a tissue and wiped off the lipstick. "Now?"

Duncan shrugged. "Go ahead. If you want to kiss me, I guess I should let you."

That wasn't my first kiss, not by a long shot. I'd kissed that boy Spencer at the dude ranch when I was thirteen, and the nutcase stalker I had in Hillwood had kissed me several time, sure. I'd had a couple of boyfriends in Springfield – I'd even hooked up with that creep Kearney who had been stuck in fifth grade for years, although he was a year older than me – but this was different. I'd thought my friend from Hillwood was a good kisser for a nine-year-old, but this was so much better.

Duncan had a sort of dangerous, smoky taste to him. Pretty fitting for the delinquent of the show. But fitting aside, I liked it. I'd expected him to be a lot rougher, but despite it all, he was forceful, but still gentle with it. All in all, he was a fantastic kisser, and as we got into it, I felt his hand wind into my dark hair, pushing my head closer.

When we finally broke away, there was a pause. Then Duncan laughed. "Your roots are showing, you know." he laughed. "Now that's why I only dye the top of my hair."

I shrugged. "Yeah, but you dye it neon green. My hair is dark brown. Can anyone else tell?"

"I'd say definitely, but you'd know I was lying." Duncan said nonchalantly. "Just me, because it's not obvious your hair is dyed, but I notice since I dye my hair. If you look closely at Lindsay, you'll notice her roots are mouse blonde, not like the rest of her hair. Well, if it wasn't for her bandanna. I saw it yesterday, when the bandanna slipped over her eyes, just before she tied it so it wouldn't fall down again."

The conversation and the kiss went unspoken for the rest of the day, and the next day, we were back to normal.

 **I thought I'd go to the bike challenge in the next chapter, otherwise it'll be really long. Hope you liked it! I'm starting to ship...Duncanie? Stephacan? I'll go with Duncanie.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Okay, last chapter was breaks. Now we have bikes! Thank you, Gage the Hedgehog, duskrider (thanks) and the guest reviewer (saying that doesn't make me update earlier – three days is the shortest).**

In the morning, Geoff locked himself in the confessional again and was crying, half singing something. Everyone could hear him. _"Baby come back? Any kind of fool can see..._ something _...about you! Hey Bridge, sending out mucho love to...wherever it is the Boat of Losers takes you..."_

Lindsay and Heather were sitting around on the dock together, and the rest of us were playing Frisbee. I'd made it clear to the guys that my voting with them wasn't a one-time thing. I'd vote with them for as long as their alliance stayed a part of the game. Now that it was the final ten, half of us being in a group would make it almost sure that we stayed strong. I was no idiot. I knew that the minute all the other girls were gone, Duncan would tell the other guys to kick me off too – he was the clear leader of the alliance. But meanwhile, if we voted off a few girls, who was I to stop them? Maybe I'd disband later. Or better, convince Owen and DJ – and Geoff, if I could – to vote with me instead.

After hearing Geoff's crying, Duncan said "We better go check on him." Me, DJ and Owen followed him.

"Wait, what about our game?" Leshawna called after us, but we didn't listen.

Owen gave Geoff a huge hug the minute he stepped out of the confessional.

"Look, man, voting Bridgette off was just a strategic move." Duncan said reasonably. "If the guys' ...and you, Steph's...alliance stands strong, we can win this!"

We all put a fist into the middle of our circle, and although Geoff didn't, it was only because he got distracted. He was still in our group.

At that moment, Chris called us to the "arts and crafts" centre, ie: a place where Chef kept a motorbike. As for us, we were meant to make bicycles. "Best bike design wins!"

So we had a ton of parts. Izzy was done first. "Hey, Steph, come on a ride with me!" she called.

I smiled at her. "Sorry, Iz. I need to build mine." So she took Leshawna instead.

By the time everyone had finished their bikes, Izzy and Leshawna still weren't back, but I didn't care. I wanted to win this challenge.

Chris looked at each of them. "Excellent aerodynamics, Heather." he said. She'd made Lindsay build hers, but it looked pretty good.

"It only weighs two ounces." Heather said proudly.

"Like her brain." Gwen and I muttered in perfect synchronization.

Chris moved on to hers. "Spooky, yet practical. Well done." He looked at mine next.

My bike was painted black, and I'd stolen one of the skulls Duncan was going to put on his bike and hung it on the handlebars. The seat was more comfortable, too – padded and wide, with the pedals slightly further ahead so you could still reach them.

"Not something I'd like to encounter on a dark night, but apart from that, very good." Chris approved. He looked at Duncan's. "Wicked Mad Max mobile, dude!"

Lindsay's was a copy of this girly kid's bike she'd wanted when she was a little girl. "Go ahead, ring her bell!" she encouraged Chris. He did, and Lindsay explained that the real one made horse sounds. That explained the horse head on her bike.

DJ had spent more time on armour than his bike, and Chris didn't approve of the training wheels. "Dude, seriously? This is lame."

Geoff's bike was skinny, with a very accurate sketch of Bridgette pinned to the front. "Now this is a hot rod." Chris grinned. "Nice!"

"I call her...Bridgette." Geoff said, his voice slightly thick with held-back tears.

Owen's bike was low to the ground, and again, Chris approved of it. But no one won...we had to race the bikes next.

"Awesome, because my bike is built for speed!" Heather smiled. "Right, Lindsay?"

"Totally!" her slave agreed.

"Yeah..." Chris said, "Unfortunately, you won't be riding it, Heather." He explained that we'd pick a person's name out of a helmet and ride their bike. If their bike crossed the finish line, the person who built it got to ride for invincibility.

I ended up with Geoff's bike. OK, that seemed like a pretty good one. DJ had mine. Geoff had Gwen's, Gwen had Owen's, Owen had Duncan's, Duncan had Lindsay's, Lindsay has Heather's, and Heather had DJ's.

"Now, before we start, has anyone seen Leshawna or Izzy?" Chris asked.

I shrugged. "I haven't seen them since Izzy took Leshawna for a test ride on her bike."

So I thought I was going pretty well in the race. I rode as fast as I could. Duncan, ahead of me, looking worried at riding such a girly childish bike, remarked "Okay, this is messed up, but YEE HAH, this is one movin' ride!"

"I know, right?" Lindsay said, passing him on Heather's bike.

That was when "Bridgette" started coming apart. Geoff was just behind me on Gwen's bike and I started yelling. "Geoff, you are SO dead! What did you forget on this thing?"

"Sorry!" he called. "Forgot the bolts!" Well, the joke was on him, because not only did I crash, but so did he – into mine. Heather, who had to push DJ's bike because it wouldn't go, didn't see where she was going and crashed into both of us, and then DJ, who'd been riding mine very slowly and carefully, also crashed into ours, although luckily, it wasn't as badly broken as the other ones. I couldn't ride for invincibility, but I could fix it up enough to take it home with me and ride it when I liked. Even if I didn't win, at least I'd go home with something to show for the summer.

Four bikes survived – Heather's, Lindsay's, Duncan's and Owen's.

But when Chris explained what happened next, I was kind of relieved I didn't have to do this race. The landmines weren't the problem. Or the oil slick. Or the pirahna pool. No, the thing was, the last one to cross the finish line got voted off the island. First to cross got invincibility...not that there was any point in that if the last one to cross was already gone.

Heather started muttering orders to Lindsay. Then, I heard Lindsay's answer. "I was thinking it would be really fun if I won a challenge for myself for once!" Heather brushed off what she was saying, although I couldn't hear what she was saying, since she was talking quietly and quickly.

I ran to the confessional before the race, since I wanted to say something. "First, my friends, you guys are awesome! And second, I hope Heather comes last in this race. Lindsay actually said something intelligent – she should win a challenge for herself."

None of this happened. Owen wiped out at the landmines, and Duncan did the same at the oil slick. Heather soared over the pirahna pool, but Lindsay got stuck for a while. Eventually, she got passed, coming in second, and she hugged Heather. "We did it! We're safe!"

"That's not exactly true." Chris interrupted. "Heather is safe, because her bike crossed the line first. But since Duncan and Owen wiped out and didn't complete the race, they technically didn't cross the line at all. Which makes you the last one to cross the line. Which means, it's Dock of Shame time, baby!"

I couldn't help a gasp escape. Lindsay, out?

"Okay, I'm so confused." Lindsay said. What a shocker.

"It means I can't save you unless I give you my invincibility." Heather explained. "But I can't do that! Too risky. You understand."

Lindsay frowned. "But I won! I even built your bike!"

Heather laughed nervously. "I don't know what she's talking about." She turned to her ally. "You should just leave with your dignity intact. It will make you seem much more cuter in the instant replays."

"But we were going to the final three together!"

"Guess we're not!"

"Aren't you even sad? We're BFFs!"

"Yeah, for the contest. I mean, it's not like we're gonna be best friends for life or anything."

Lindsay gasped, seeing Heather's true colours for the first time. "I can't believe you just said that! But we pinky swore! You mean-" Her eyes narrowed, and I couldn't help smiling. I liked that Lindsay was finally standing up for herself. "I've been helping you all this time and you didn't even like me?"

"Truth?" Heather asked. Lindsay nodded. "Not really, no. What? We're not here to make friends. We're here to become celebrities, remember?"

"That's cold." Duncan remarked.

"Oh, like you're such a team player!" Heather retorted. "All you do is go around scaring the crap out of everyone."

"At least I'm straight with people."

"You gonna explain why I'm not a good team player too, Heather?" I called out from the bank. "Cause I'm weird and I'm goth? You haven't called me that name since the first week!"

"Whatever." shrugged Heather. "I have invincibility. No one can touch me."

"This week." Gwen muttered, giving me a weird look.

I laughed. "Hey, I try to be weird and goth. If you don't like her calling you that, she can call me that instead." It might have sounded like it didn't make any sense out loud, but who cared? I wouldn't mind Heather calling me that, Gwen obviously did mind.

Lindsay was looking angry now. "You really are mean!" she cried, glaring at Heather. "And all that bad stuff people say about you is true, like how you're a two-faced, backstabbing, lying little-"

HOLY CRAP, DID THAT JUST HAPPEN? Lindsay said so many curse words I couldn't keep track of them. All I knew is that she was cussing like crazy as she flipped Heather the bird. And it was AWESOME!  
"I always told them they were wrong." Lindsay continued. "I stood up for you because I thought we were BFFs! But they're right! You really are a two-faced, backstabbing, lying little-" I didn't get too shocked when she repeated everything, just enjoying it. "And guess what? I don't _wanna_ be BFFs any more. I'd rather spend the days staring at Owen's butt than shopping with you! And PS: Your shoes are tacky!"

We all burst out laughing, except for Heather. "Oh, go jump in the pirahna pool!" she snapped.

I remember hearing Lindsay in the confessional that evening, making her last one of the season. "I don't know what came over me. Oh wait, yes I do! Heather's a total ****!"

That evening, at sunset, Lindsay took her bags and said goodbye to each of us, getting names wrong. "Thanks for all your support, Greta." she said to Gwen. And to Leshawna, "I love you, Lequisha."

Leshawna gave her a hug. "See you, girlfriend. If it makes you feel better, we would've kept you on."

"Really?" Lindsay smiled. "Thanks. Kick Heather's butt for me." She stopped in front of me. "I'll miss you, Stephie."

I didn't bother to correct her. "Stephie" was pretty close, and it was also something Mom used to call me when I was very little. I'd refused to let her call me that after I turned seven and only accepted "Steph" as a nickname, but from Lindsay...

Well, I gave her an unusually warm hug. "What you said to Heather was awesome." I whispered. "I'll miss you too."

Lindsay continued on, saying her goodbyes to Izzy, and then the boys. "Bye, guys, see you at the finale!" she stopped at Owen. "Aww, I think I'm gonna miss you the most."

Owen burst into tears and hugged her. "Me too! Bye!"

Finally, Lindsay got to the last person. She smiled sweetly. "Good luck, Heather. I hope you get everything your karma owes you. Okay, I'm ready." She stepped onto the Boat of Losers, her head held high.

Despite Lindsay's frustrating stupidity, I really was going to miss her.

 **I really love the end of this episode, and I had so much fun writing it! And that's a new piece of backstory – Stephanie's childhood nickname was Stephie! OK, so I kind of stole that from a girl in my American Short Story class who has that nickname, but I don't know...I like it.**


	22. Chapter 22

**As I mentioned, Stephanie loves horror movies! Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog.**

We had another break. Two, actually. But on the evening of the second day, Chris set up a horror movie for us to watch. If you remember, I had a conversation with Gwen about slasher flicks on our second day at camp, so it was great for both of us. Especially when it turned out Duncan was really into horror movies, too.

"He's coming out of the woods with a big hacking chainsaw!" Izzy exclaimed. "So cool!"

"Oh no, psycho killer man's going for the car!" Owen exclaimed, covering his eyes.

"Yo, fool couple, stop making out and start the car!" Leshawna yelled at the screen. She threw some popcorn.

"They're gonna be chainsaw sushi!" Izzy laughed.

"I agree with Leshawna!" I called out. "Can't they just look up for ONE minute?"

"Great Canadian cheese, now the car won't start!" Owen exclaimed.

DJ, who had been covering his eyes for most of the movie, risked a look at the screen. "Oh man," he said shakily, "I hate scary movies." Poor dude.

"Run, the psycho's gonna get ya!" Izzy cried.

DJ kept covering and uncovering his eyes.

"Here comes the bloodfest!" Gwen called. "Yeah! Right on!"

"More, more, MORE!" I started yelling at the screen.

Izzy narrated as the psycho killer left. "He's getting away! Yeah, good ending!" She suddenly jumped into Owen's arms. "Izzy loves scary movies!"

"So does Owen." Owen said, copying her third-person speech.

"Am I ever glad that's over." DJ said. "I really hate scary movies."

I put my arm around him. "It's okay, DJ, it didn't really happen, right? We're safe."

"What scares you most?" Duncan teased him. "The part where everyone meets a grisly death or the psycho killer with the hook?" At this moment, he brought out his fake hook and DJ screamed. Everyone else laughed.

I shoved Duncan playfully. "OK, Captain Hook, we've seen enough blades for one night. Put that thing away, you're scaring him."

"Aw, come on, Deej." Gwen said. "For a slasher flick, it was pretty tame." That was true. Apart from the bloodfest at the end, there wasn't that much violence.

"Not like _Bloodbath II: Summer Camp Reign of Terror_!" Duncan said.

"No way, that's my favourite movie!" Gwen exclaimed.

I shrugged. "Meh, it was OK. I prefer _Scream_." We started talking about the best parts of the movies.

"Awww," Heather said sarcastically. "Looks like Gwen, Stephanie and Duncan have more in common than bad fashion sense. It's just mindless guts and gore."

"Oh yeah?" I said. "What about _The Exorcist?_ Scariest horror movie ever, mostly psychological."

"Horror movies aren't mindless." Gwen agreed.

"Yeah, they're loaded with psychological trauma." added Duncan. "Look at DJ." Who was now clinging to Leshawna like a lifeline, probably because she was closest.

We started discussing the challenge, but then, we were distracted when Chris and Chef suddenly left on the boat with terrified expressions.

But they left one thing – a backpack. With a newspaper claiming there's a psycho killer with a chainsaw and a hook on the loose.

"He's on the loose!" Izzy repeated, grinning.

"Oh, come on!" Heather scowled. "They don't expect us to fall for this! Scary movie followed by hasty exit followed by strategically placed lame prop?"

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe this is a challenge, Heather? You know, that thing you try to win each week?" But Heather didn't believe me. And half the group thought it might actually be real, because Chris left some of his hair gel.

"So let me get this straight." DJ said, his voice squeaky with terror. "Chris left us for dead – and now we're alone – while that escaped psycho killer with a chainsaw is on the loose?"

"No, we're alone while that escaped psycho killer with a chainsaw and a _hook_ is on the loose!" Duncan corrected, bringing out his hook, making DJ scream again.

"I told you, dude, not funny!"

"Save us your Chicken Little routine!" Leshawna sighed unsympathetically. "Get a grip, bro!"

"I can't help it." DJ said fearfully. "I feel like I'm being watched."

I gave a sigh. "It's a reality show. You're probably just feeling the effects of the cameras."

Gwen suggested going back to camp to talk strategy, but Heather still insisted it was a hoax. "You little freaks might need the game plan, but I need a facial."

"Are you nuts, Heather?" I cried.

"First rule of slasher films: Never go off alone!" Gwen added.

"I might actually listen to you two if we were in a movie. We're being punked. You're so gullible. Hey, Chris, if you're listening, next time, rent one that takes place at a summer camp!"

"I repeat, Heather: Chall. Enge." I said, but she still wouldn't listen.

"And the bossy mean chick seals her fate." Izzy said, drawing a finger across her throat and making a throat-slit sound. So it was time to go to camp and talk about things.

Gwen drew a picture of all nine of us in front of the campfire. "Okay, guys, rules;" I said. "First, don't go off on your own."

"Rule number two," Gwen continued, pacing up and down, "If you do go off on your own, never go into the woods."

"Rule number three," I said "If you do go into the woods, never ever make out in the woods."

"Or you will die in the woods." Gwen added. She paused. "Where's Izzy and Owen?"

"Breaking rules one through three." Duncan said carelessly.

Next to disappear were DJ and Geoff. DJ needed the bathroom, but remembering the rules, he got Geoff to wait outside for him. That left the four of us.

At that moment, we heard screaming, so Gwen and I went to the bathrooms to check what was going on. DJ and Geoff were nowhere to be seen, but Heather was there, in a towel and face mask. "I'm fine." she said. "You might want to check on DJ. He ran out of here like he saw a ghost. Can I have my shower in peace, please?"

"That's a bad ide-" I began, but Heather glared at me before I could finish.

"Fine." Gwen said. "Suit yourself."

"If you do get attacked, don't come crying to us...you know, if you survive that long." I added.

"By the way, that's a great look on you." Gwen finished.

By the time we got to the campfire, Leshawna had gone. Duncan said she went to get some snacks.

"What is _up_ with this group?" I sighed. "We only wanted to help."

"Yeah, that's what really ticks me off." Gwen agreed.

Duncan shrugged, creating two torches. "Live and learn, sweetheart."

"You really are a pyro, aren't you?" Gwen said.

"So? I like burning stuff."  
"So you went to juvie for arson?" I asked.

"Like I'd tell either of you why I went to juvie." Duncan set the picture of everyone on fire. By that time, everyone was crossed out except for the three of us. Gwen ran to get some water, and I decided to go with her, you know, for safety. And by the time we got back, Duncan was gone.

We exchanged glances. "Okay, you know what?" Gwen scowled. "I'm getting a sandwich."

"Can I come?" I asked. "I'm starving, too, and I'm pretty sure Chef has something better than what he serves us in the kitchen."

So we both went to the cafeteria and made ourselves snacks. That was when we were found by what we thought was an actor. Yeah, the escaped psycho killer with a chainsaw and a hook.

We both just talked to the guy, asking did he want a sandwich before he killed us, and telling him to invest in a dental plan. Neither of us were scared, not even when he showed us he had a stub for a hand underneath his hook.

"Poor you." I said sympathetically. "Maybe the hook is a good idea."

That's when the rest of the group, plus Chris and Chef, burst in. "He's the real escaped psycho killer with the chainsaw and a hook!" they cried.

Gwen and I took one look at the guy. Then Gwen screamed and her foot shot up, kicking the guy in the face. I ducked his chainsaw and rammed my foot into his gut until he spoke.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. "Oh, that was totally uncalled for! Man, I am so out of here. I was treated way better in prison."

At the bonfire ceremony that night, no vote was required. Gwen and I had won the challenge, first. And second, the weakest player had to go. DJ was the only one who didn't face the psycho killer. Thing was, he freaked out at the sight of Heather in a face mask – that was why he'd been screaming. So it was time for him to go.

"But no hard feelings, dude." Chris assured him. "You will be missed."

"Group hug!" Owen called out. We all joined in, even Heather. DJ may have been a scaredy-cat, but we all liked him. He was the softest, kindest, sweetest guy on the island, even though he was also the tallest and most muscular. I knew I'd miss him.

We all waved goodbye to him. I nudged Duncan as we walked back down the dock. "So where did you disappear to?" I asked.

"I wanted to confront the killer, so I got everyone to leave the campfire pit." he explained. "If you and Gwen hadn't beaten the real killer, I would've won. Chef was the psycho, so I just got the chainsaw off him and unmasked him. Easy."

I laughed. "All too easy, it sounds like. I'm glad Gwen and I won instead."

 **Yeah, gotta love that episode. Well, I happen to be into horror movies, and _Scream_ is a big favourite, along with _Nightmare On Elm Street._**


	23. Chapter 23

**Okay, time for hunting. Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog and SuperKitty4789.**

We had another break, the next day. Two days again, in fact, except we didn't have a nighttime challenge, this time. The next challenge would be the last challenge of the week. Six weeks here, and only eight of us remained. Wow.

On the second day of the break, the day I'd been waiting for arrived. It was Duncan's turn to drag me to that clearing we'd talked in.

"Okay, I've decided on something." he said. "I've got a condition for this. If I make this decision, you have to do something for me."

I shrugged. "Okay. What is it?"

"Well, I know reality shows, and I know that everyone on the cast will be back at some point. I want you to try to be friendly to Courtney."

I gave him a weird look. "Why? If one of us is losing you to the other, why should either of us try to be friends?"

"Because I know you dislike each other. Look, do you need a reason? Maybe I just want you to make a sacrifice."

I gave a sigh. "You are so weird. If I agree, will you tell me your decision? What the heck, I'll do it. If she's nice back."

Duncan grinned. "Cool. I've decided – I think you and me should give it a try. For now, at least. But keep it hidden from the cameras. If if doesn't work out by the time one of us gets kicked off, Courtney and I can go back to how we were just before she left. If we do work out, I can let her down easy, since the cameras won't have seen us."

"Well, aren't you a gentleman?" I teased. "Have you been in this situation before?"  
"Actually, no. I know that's hard to believe."

"Actually, what's hard to believe is your giant ego, delinquent."

"Are you going to say that when I stun you with my...skills?" I didn't get to answer, because by that time, his lips were on mine.

I folded my arms. "I can still say that."

Duncan smirked. "Keep teasing me and I'll start calling you by a name I know you hate."

I smirked "Oh yeah? What name do I hate?"

"Don't lie, you flinched when Lindsay called you Stephie." Duncan said. "I'd call you that." But when he said it, the name didn't feel annoying any more. It felt kind of special, hearing it from a guy who I knew actually liked me.

I gave a sigh. "I hate that name from Mom. Or my friends. But I don't hate it when it comes from you. I actually kind of like it. If I stop teasing you, will you call me that?"

Duncan put an arm around me before planting another quick kiss on my lips. "Sure, Stephie." he said, his voice noncommittal.

Maybe I shouldn't have let him keep calling me that, but no one else started, so that was okay. The days passed slowly. Everyone was doing something different.

Since the cameras weren't on Duncan and I, we did do some stuff together, but nothing serious. We kept it light. And it was also in the back of my mind that he was Canadian and I was going to go back to the United States at the end of the summer. Courtney was probably an easier choice as a girlfriend. But dammit, I was going to enjoy it while I could!

Owen was having big love life trouble. I'd managed to get out of him that he and Izzy had something going on, but now she was mad at him. Apparently when Chef had terrorized them as the psycho murderer, Owen pushed Izzy at him and ran. Now she was mad at him and he was trying mega-hard to make things up to her.

Luckily, Leshawna, Geoff, Gwen and Heather had no love life trouble. Everyone they were into had been kicked off, and they were focusing on the game..not that Heather was ever into anyone (until later, in a different season). Well, I knew that Gwen still missed Trent and Geoff still missed Bridgette, but Gwen kept her mind off it and Geoff didn't lock himself in the confessional and cry every day any more, so that was fine.

On the day of the challenge, we were all walking to the mess hall when Owen tried to offer Izzy flowers, again trying to get her forgiveness. She refused, and then, suddenly, Owen was gone.

Gwen turned. "Wasn't that just a three-hundred pound bag of joy talking to you?" she asked Izzy.

"I'm only two ninety-six!" Owen was hanging from a rope above us. "Someone set a trap." The next moment, a cage fell, trapping the rest of us. "Or two."

Chris finally put in an appearance to let us know why he'd decided to have traps set up for us. "Good morning, campers! Or should I say, trappers! Ready for today's challenge? Excellent! Let's chat about it over chow, shall we?"

After freeing us, we were given paste for breakfast while Chris reminded us how far we were in the competition, how it was the final eight. "We're nearing the end, people. So look alive."

I made a confessional just before the challenge about that. "My chances of winning? Hm, they're pretty good. I mean, if I end up in the final two with Heather, everyone will support me, right? My biggest threats for the votes would probably be Geoff, because he's friends with everyone, Owen, because he seems to like everyone, and maybe Gwen and Leshawna." I shrugged. "Duncan is probably a threat, mainly because he'd threaten everyone who doesn't vote for him, but that's all. Izzy's not really a major problem at this point, either. I need to focus on getting some of the more likable people out next. I don't think I'll boot Geoff or Owen just yet, though. I need to get through the challenges first, and that means booting the strongest people first. They can wait until the final...five, maybe?"

Chris explained that today's challenge was to trap an animal in eight hours.

Duncan grabbed one of Owen's wrists. "Got one!"

"A wild animal." Chris frowned at him.

I tried to force some more paste down my throat as Gwen spoke up. "I may have to barbecue my animal. I'm starving to death."

"Funny you should mention that, Gwen." Chris grinned. "Reward for winning today's challenge is a meal of all your favourite foods."

Well, that was good incentive. Heather didn't even try to eat any more of her paste. And speaking of Heather, she went into the confessional before me that morning, and she was just after Owen. When she knocked on the door, calling "Are you almost finished in there?", we heard Owen scream before he answered. Interesting – did he really find Heather that scary?

We all stood outside the fish cabin as we picked an animal. I had a squirrel, but I didn't hear what most of the others had – only Izzy and Heather.

Izzy because she exclaimed "Deer! Yes! Bagging a doe!"

Heather was shocked at her animal. " _Bear?_ Are you kidding me?"

I couldn't help making a remark. "I guess we get them based on personality. You're just as aggressive and probably have just as much hair." I smirked. "And no, I'm not talking about head hair."

We got a minute in the boathouse to grab whatever we had. The only reason why Heather tried was because if she lost and didn't get eliminated, she'd have to clean the communal bathrooms. And after Owen was in there...

I figured I'd have to climb trees, so I grabbed one of the burlap sacks from one of the crates (Geoff had found them and taken one) and a hook that Izzy rejected from the box of stuff she grabbed (she found a tranquilzer gun). So when Chris gave us the signal, I zoomed into the woods, looking around.

I instantly found a grey squirrel, but I'd have to use the hook to get up there. Sadly, squirrels are pretty shy, so it took me a whole two hours to get the squirrel close enough so I could trap it. Then I got it into the burlap sack, and strolled back to camp. But I'd already lost the dinner. Duncan was just ahead of me, pulling a raccoon off his head, and there was already a duck in the cage.

"Reopen the cage!" I yelled as he closed it. Again, it was open and I put the sack down, leaving the opening so the squirrel could get out. Then I ran out.

"Who got the duck?" I asked.

"Me." Gwen grinned. "Hey, host-man, bring on the chow!" Boy, was she lucky.

I would've focused more on Gwen, if it wasn't for Duncan trying to make an alliance with Heather. I dragged him aside. "You're going to team up with _her_?" I hissed. "What is wrong with you?"

Duncan shrugged. "She's my competition, Stephie. I figure I'll team up with her for now."

Well, it paid off. Izzy saw Heather wearing deer antlers as part of the plan to get the bear, thought she was a deer and shot her with a tranquilizer dart. That night, she had to be propped up at the campfire pit. Oh yeah, and she had the communal bathrooms to clean, since Geoff, Leshawna and Owen eventually got their animals.

And as for who went home...Izzy, of course. She didn't seem bothered, though. "Oh well, we all gotta go sometime, right?"

"You could make out with me first, if that'd cushion the blow." Owen offered.

I didn't ask for permission, and just hugged Izzy goodbye. In spite of her weirdness, I liked her. "Goodnight, everybody!" she finished. "Thanks for coming out!" And literally, she was gone in a puff of smoke.

The final seven. Wow.

 **I don't like this episode much. It's okay, but pretty boring in comparison to the other ones this season.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Oh, well, now here's an episode I like! Thanks for reviewing, StarHeart Specials,** **shahmeeralikhokhar** **and Gage the Hedgehog.**

The end of the sixth week marked another letter. I also got a care package from Mom. This one held some more macaroons, which I shared with everyone except Heather (although I stashed some away before handing them out so Owen couldn't get to them).

The letter was from Lisa, as usual.

 _Dear Stephanie,_

 _We just got the Hide and Seek episode. Why did you side with the boys? I thought you and Bridgette were friends! Oh, and I don't know, but I don't believe that Geoff didn't vote for her, unless Izzy changed her vote or something. Either way, you seriously left him hanging upside down all night? Like I said, I don't know what you see in Duncan._

 _Heather spilled Lindsay's nail polish, by the way, and she said in the confessional that she thinks Heather might not be as nice as she thought. Has she left Heather's alliance yet? Is she still there?_

 _My prediction for the next elimination is Heather, if she doesn't keep winning invincibility. Otherwise...probably Duncan or DJ. This is where the nicest competitors have to be kicked off, right? That was why you voted Bridgette out._

 _By the way, that torture challenge...I wonder who thought of that. But the New Age music didn't seem so bad – how come Gwen couldn't take ten seconds of it? Otherwise, it's inhumane. I mean, I know Izzy enjoyed it, but electrocuting someone can be murder._

 _As for the key thing...poor Trent! I was hoping he'd stay around for longer. Also, I don't know if you know this, but before she kissed Trent, Heather told him a ton of lies about Gwen, saying that she was playing him for his vote and really doesn't like him._

 _Tasha isn't going to send another letter, she says, but your friends all miss you, and they're glad you're still in. Don't come home without the money._

 _Love, Lisa_

I also spent some time hanging out with Duncan. But then, it was the start of the seventh week, and the first challenge of the week, with the final seven.

Chris told us that he and the producers had thought of the best way to help us de-stress. "Then we decided it would be more way more fun to see if we couldn't push 'em over the edge!" He held up four pairs of handcuffs.

"Did Duncan's parole officer send a care package?" Heather said mockingly, but the joke was on her. Chris would handcuff each of us to a partner, or in one case, two other people. Then we'd compete in three challenges. Winning team got invincibility.

Chris chose the teams straight off. First, he placed one cuff on Leshawna's wrist and connected the other one to Duncan. Then he cuffed Heather and Owen together. I looked warily from Gwen to Geoff. I wouldn't mind being cuffed to either, but for a whole challenge? And I knew for a fact that Geoff got on Gwen's nerves because he was always smiling and being friendly. He didn't annoy me so much – in fact, happy people did annoy me, but Geoff was impossible not to like after being on a team with him – but if Gwen and I were cuffed to him for a whole challenge...well, I wasn't sure what would happen.

Chris had us cuffed in a line, with Geoff in the middle and Gwen and I either side. The challenge was called the Tri-Armed Triathalon. "Although, you three, you get an extra arm," he added to my team. "Since you have an extra person and just having three arms would make it unfair because you'd have a harder time."

Because it was a Triathalon, there were three challenges. Chris told us that there was a Wimp Key, which we'd be offered before each challenge. But if we took it, we'd automatically be eliminated from the competition as a whole, along with our partner/teammates.

The first challenge was an eating challenge. One person would feed a platter of food to the other. Chris gave my group the choice of whether there were two feeders or eaters. But because Gwen refused to make up her mind (I got the feeling she was trying to annoy Geoff), I couldn't decide. Because Geoff was in the middle, he had to do one and Gwen and I would both do the other.

"Gwen, decide already!" I snapped. "If you're trying to be frustrating, congratulations, you succeeded. Either decide, or let me or Geoff decide."

I knew she hadn't been trying to irritate me in particular, but that outburst shut her up. When she saw the platter, she immediately decided that we'd feed and Geoff would eat. Owen was obviously going to do the eating for his team, and Leshawna and Duncan arm-wrestled for eating, and Duncan cheated and won.

Gwen and I would've had an easier time with Geoff if he hadn't kept interrupting to tell us how wonderful the food was, saying "You've gotta try this quiche" or "cheesecake's delish!"

"Focus!" I said sternly.

"I am not here to try the food." Gwen scowled. "This is a contest!"

Eventually, Heather just smashed the tray into Owen's face, and he'd eaten everything that got into his mouth. They won the first challenge easily. Heather even gave Owen a hug. "All right, Owen! Way to go! You are one champion eater! What a team!" Owen looked a bit unnerved and even afraid. That I could get. Someone as sweet and innocent as Owen _would_ be terrified of Heather, especially if she suddenly started being nice.

The second challenge began with canoeing to Boney Island. Owen tried to get Heather to agree to use the Wimp key, but she wouldn't. Duncan and Leshawna had another argument about who got to go in front. As for us, Gwen and I sat in the front while Geoff babbled on about some prank he and his friends played one time. He didn't shut up until Gwen yelled at him.

"Whoa. Harshness."

"Oh, I know." Gwen snapped. "I'm the harsh weird scary goth girl who's being all mean and snappish as usual."

"Chill! I didn't say that!"

I gave a sigh. "Guys, can't you please try to get along? Gwen, we know you're doing this on purpose. Geoff, take this seriously for once. I mean come on, you're annoying _me_ , and I was on a team with you for four weeks. I'm used to it. If I wasn't, I'd probably be ready to kill you about now, so imagine how it must be."

Geoff was a bit subdued then, but when we got to the next part of the challenge, he'd recovered from Gwen's outburst.

It turned out the little tiki doll that Beth had promised to take back to Boney Island had been found flushed down the septic tank in bits. Now, each of us had to bring the piece back, and this time, one person had to piggyback the other – or other two, in our case.

Geoff quickly let Gwen and I on, while Owen bent down a little for Heather, and Duncan made some remark about Leshawna's weight.

Geoff brought us to a beach. "Oh, wow. Scope all the beauteousness here!"

"Wait, are we lost?" Gwen asked. "There is no beach on this map."

"Nah, I remembered it from our last trip." Geoff said, pulling a camera out of his pocket and snapping pictures. However, Gwen threw the camera into the water after he took a picture of her, and finally, all three of us ended up talking about what was going on.

Gwen was sick of Geoff being all happy and nice, convinced he was only doing it for the team. "I wasn't pretending!" he protested. "I really like you."

"Yeah, and if we went to the same high school, you'd probably invite me to all your wild parties, too."

"I totally would!" Geoff said. "But I didn't think you'd want to go."

"Why not?" Gwen challenged. "I'm not cool enough?"

"No! You just seem like...I dunno, it's not your thing. You'd probably think parties were pretty stupid anyway."

Gwen hesitated. "Well, I wouldn't know. I've never been to one."

I couldn't help gasping at that. "Gwen, seriously? Even _I've_ been to a few parties. And yeah, they were stupid, but they could be fun, too."

But after that, Gwen finally had an invitation to one of Geoff's parties after the show ended. "Am I invited?" I asked. "I mean, if I'm still in Canada by then."

"Of course, Steph!" Geoff grinned. "I wouldn't invite just one of you. All my buds on the show are welcome!" That was almost everyone.

Also, we won that part of the challenge, and all three of us let loose together in happiness. Even Gwen cheered up and all three of us started yelling "Woohoo!" We all high-fived, and then it was time to go back and do the third challenge. Each team stood in front of a covered table. Chris finally whipped the cover off, and Owen screamed.

"Relax," Heather told him, "It's just Eva. Ew, two Evas! That is upsetting." On each table, there were wood carvings of everyone who had been kicked off. Our job was to place them in the order of who got kicked off, Ezekiel at the bottom and the second Izzy at the top.

"Time for heads to roll."

Heather and Owen weren't doing anything. Owen drooled over Justin, then Heather remarked that the wood carvings of Lindsay and Beth had as much brainpower than the real two combined (hey, at least Beth stood up to her – that meant she was smart, and after what Lindsay said to her...)

"Okay, I think Katie was voted off fifth." Gwen was saying in our group.

"No, it was Sadie!" Geoff protested.

"Wasn't it Katie? I can never remember!"

"Katie was the stick-thin one!" I spoke up. "It was her voted off first."

"No, Katie was the one who was afraid of bad haircuts..." Geoff said, "Or was that Sadie?"

"Sadie!" I insisted. "Katie goes next."

Meanwhile, Heather had gotten even worse. Owen lost his temper when she started insulting Izzy. Chris teased Duncan when he found that he'd carved a heart with _D + C_ into the back of the carving of Courtney. I gave him a sideways look and he nodded, which meant we'd talk later.

But he and Leshawna actually won the challenge, while Gwen, Geoff and I only got as far as Trent. That meant that all of us were vulnerable that night, but at least we could take the handcuffs off, and we'd had fun.

Duncan and I talked in our clearing. "So does that mean it's Courtney?" I asked.

"Look, Stephie, I like you. I mean that." Duncan said seriously. "But I'll be honest; I'm not good with long-distance relationships. You're from the States, I'm not even allowed out of Canada because of my criminal record. It's basic logic – we can't date."

I shrugged. "I guess I knew that was coming. It's okay. We can still be pen pals after this game is over, right?"

Duncan grinned. "Got no objection to that. Well, e-pals anyway. And if you come back to Canada later on, we can hang out and stuff. But I figured if I want a relationship at all, I should pick Courtney. Besides the distance, you're still my friend, I guess. Courtney either likes me, you know what I mean, or she hates me. So that's how it's going to work."

I smiled. I'd seen it coming. It didn't hurt so much. "Okay, but I've got two requests." I said. "Can I kiss you just one more time? And will you keep calling me Stephie? It makes me feel special when you say it."

Duncan smiled back. "Okay to both of those, _Stephie_."

That night, Chris gave Leshawna and Duncan, then Heather and Owen their marshmallows quickly. He took longer to give me mine, but he still did it. Gwen stood up. "It's cool. I had a good time."

"What are you doing?!" Chris demanded. "You're wrecking it!" Mainly because Gwen hadn't been voted off. She was given a marshmallow, and then she looked at the rest of the cast. I hadn't voted for Geoff. She hadn't either. But it seemed like everyone else had. "Are you guys all crazy? Geoff is the nicest guy in the world!"

"Yeah, bingo, sister." Duncan grinned.

"As if Heather could defeat nice." agreed Owen.

"The power of nice is huge, and we're not worried about you or your clone in that department, Gwen." Heather smirked, looking from her to me.

But Geoff seemed cool about it, at least. I gave him a hug goodbye on the dock. After all, he'd been a great friend to me. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if he was a little less happy, he'd have the exact personality I'd want in an older sibling.

As for Gwen, she came down to the dock with us, since she'd gotten Geoff's camera back from the shallows of Boney Island. "I'm sorry. There might be just a little of Lake Wawanakwa in it."

Geoff only grinned. "Makes it a better souvenir, right?"

"Right." Gwen smiled shyly. "Bye, Geoff. And thanks." We both turned to go back.

"Wait up!" Geoff quickly put one arm around each of us, and snapped a selfie of our triathalon team (obviously, this blocked my synthetic onyx necklace since his arm looped around so he could still hold the camera, but that was OK.

It was true, voting off the nicest guy on the show was a legit strategy. Now every person on the show was heavily flawed. Leshawna had a terrifying quick temper, Duncan could be really mean, Owen had huge digestion issues, I was focused on strategy and very snarky, Gwen was moody, and Heather...well, how can I put it nicely?

I can't.

 **Well, we all know what's coming up! Now it's the final six, so...yeah, one person won't be getting their video message.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Let's continue! Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog. And Jeptwin...there's a disclaimer at the start, saying I own nothing from either franchise, and Stephanie is mine. Besides that, by your reasoning, my stories "Hey Hogwarts", "Being The Slave" and "Love and Dance" got pulled down, and they're still around.  
** We got a three-day break after Geoff left. According to Chris, he was doing an episode about the losers and what they were doing, and in the middle of our break, they'd pick who to kick off. That's how I knew they were all together somewhere, but Chris wouldn't tell us anything more. Oh well, it explained why it was so easy to find Katie to greet Sadie after the trust challenge.

I spent most of the break chilling with Gwen and Leshawna. We were all wondering what everyone was doing, hanging out together. "I wonder if Cody's got his cast off yet." I commented. "He looked pretty messed up when you guys voted him off."

"I hope so too." Gwen said, looking guilty. "He didn't deserve that. He was a bit creepy, like one time, he sniffed my hair for no reason, but then, after I made it clear that I didn't like him, he helped set me up with Trent." She was clearly still missing Trent, but at least he'd left the island with a mended heart (after Heather's lies broke it) and no broken bones.

Leshawna was missing Harold after that kiss, but she had other emotions. "I got so emotional on the dock, and I'm scared I've given him the wrong message." she sighed. "I want to be friends with him, but that's all. Good friends, but just friends." She sighed again. "I shouldn't have kissed him."

I smiled at her. "Next time you see him, just explain that." I told her. "I was on a team with Harold for almost four weeks. He's a reasonable guy – he won't press you if you want to be just friends. Mind you," I added with a smile, "I somehow think he's going to turn into a friendzoned guy, trying to win you by being your best friend."

I talked to Duncan too, of course. We didn't talk so much about the others, but about what lay ahead. "Who do you think they'll vote off?" I asked. "Heather?"

"Probably." Duncan shrugged. "At least we won't miss her."

"Who else would they vote off?" I wondered. "Maybe I'd be their second choice." (Later on, I discovered that Bridgette was torn between rooting for me, Leshawna and Gwen, and that there wasn't much of anything bad people said about me – even Eva spoke positively, although Courtney said she thought I was immature...and even Izzy said she wanted me to win).

Leshawna was the one to leave the island in the end. None of us were sure why, least of all her. Chef, in fact, had to push her down the dock, while she stood frozen, open-mouthed at the shock.

A days after that, we got our video messages that the final five would get. Chris had gotten the producers to have one recorded for the final ten, so they were ready to go, but only us five would get them.

All five of us got to watch each others, but we did in alphabetical order with our first names. That meant Duncan was first.

His message was from his parents. "Your parole officer here said we could tell you we love you." his mom said.

"Despite your arrest for the Happy New Year's stunt..." his dad added.

"Or for selling your father's hair pieces as pets..." his mom continued.

"And the pool party in the City Hall fountain...come to think of it, _do_ we love you?"

"That's a terrible thing to say!" Duncan's mom cried.

"Well, the boy's a criminal!" his dad argued.

"That hair piece is what's criminal."

"What pool party?" Duncan's parole officer asked.

Duncan's father realized what he'd said. "Son, I hope you win that cash. Your lawyer's gonna need it..."

Gwen's video was a little strange. It was of just her mom and her little brother. Her mom spoke first. "Gwen, we miss you so much, your brother and I decided to pay a little neighbour girl to pretend to be you."

"It was totally Mom's idea, Gwen!" her brother said quickly.

There was a clip of the family sitting around the table, with a girl obviously made up to look like Gwen. She wasn't really much like the real Gwen, though.

"Needless to say," Gwen's mom finished, "That may not have been the best idea."

Gwen's pale skin was going scarlet by the time the message was finished.

It was Heather's turn, and hers was much worse. The clip started with her parents in party hats, celebrating, then suddenly, "We're rolling?" Her parents took off their hats and sat on the sofa, while moving men walked backwards and forwards in front of the camera. But Heather's parents tried.

"Hi, Heather-Feather." her dad said. "It's Momsy and Popsy. We miss you so much. My golf game has really been off since you've been gone." I giggled and Heather shot a glare at me.

"Pedicures seem less spiritual." her mom continued.

At that moment, a moving man walked past, asking "Hey, where do you want me to put her bed?"

Heather's dad's reaction. "Oopsie..."

I felt a bit sorry for Heather, after that. Her parents were partying and selling all her stuff? At least _my_ mom wouldn't do that. Dad might, left to himself, but Mom would never let him.

I didn't take too much notice of Owen's message. His parents were as chubby as him, and they just gushed about how great he looked and how proud they were of him. At least, his parents seemed like very warm, loving people, which explained why Owen was such a teddy bear himself.

Then it was finally my turn. My family was sitting in the living room, all smiling. Mom was crying.

"Hi, Stephanie." Lisa smiled at the camera. "As you've probably guessed, we miss you. Hey Maggie, say hi to the camera.

"Come home, Steph!" Maggie called out, her face up close to the camera.

"Hey, Steph!" Bart called out. "I've got your wallet. You want it back, it'll cost a thousand dollars of the prize money." I rolled my eyes. I could just buy another one. And a lock on my door that needed a key, while I'm at it (although Lisa would need a key too, since we shared a room).

"We miss you, honey." Mom managed through her tears. "Stay safe. I'm very proud of you for making it this far."

Finally, Dad spoke up. "Hey, who are we talking to again? The delinquent or the Asian?"

"It's our daughter, Homer!" Mom snapped.

"Oh." he paused. "Yeah...can't wait to see you. I guess." He paused. "Which one's our daughter? The girl with the blue hair or the black girl?"

I blushed after Heather laughed at that, but I tried to shrug it off. "My dad's always like that. About as sharp as Lindsay."

"That's quite an achievement!" Heather continued laughing. "I am never going to let you forget this!"

I scowled at her. "Oh yeah? Well, at least _my_ siblings and my mom miss me, and they haven't sold all my stuff!" That shut Heather up. Harsh, maybe, but that was all Heather understood. Funny, how her video could make me feel sorry for her, than she'd turn around and say something mean. Voila, I was back to hating her.

Although to be honest, the next challenge was one where I was kind of glad to have people around, even if one of them was her.

 **Okay, so I don't like the next episode much. But it has a lot of potential for this fic!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Right, "Camp Castaways"! Oh yeah, and the _Survivor_ reference...yeah, it's based on Jon from _Pearl Islands._ His alias was "Jonny Fairplay" because, according to him, he doesn't play fair. And yes, his lie about his grandma having died has become infamous in the show. In the reunion, his grandma actually looked pretty young to be the grandmother of an adult.**

From the day the nex t challenge was meant to start, it began raining. We spent the whole day huddled on the cabin decks under cover, and according to Chris, we'd spend the next day in the craft tent. Well, it was better than having Heather paint her nails and tease Gwen about getting frown lines, and me about my roots getting more noticeable.

"Why don't you just put us out of our misery and vote yourself off?" Gwen scowled at her.

"So nice to see you three getting along." Duncan teased from the boys' cabin steps. "Gives me the warm fuzzies."

"In your dreams, perv." Heather shot back.

"Don't think you have anything to worry about." I told her. "No guy at camp would be interested in _you._ Heck, no one who watches the show would be interested." (I should note here that the only relationship that Heather ever got into after this season involved someone who was actually worse than her).

Owen spent most of the afternoon in the confessional. I went to bed before he came back, in fact.

And the next day, it was sunny again. That would've been fine...if it wasn't for the fact that we woke up somewhere other than our cabins. I was woken by a scream and a splash.

"Did you get split ends, Heather?" I muttered sarcastically before opening my eyes. Then I nearly screamed too.

We were in the water, among all the stuff in our cabins and not much else. Somehow, we'd been set adrift after we went to sleep.

Luckily, the boys' cabin was floating nearby, so the sharks didn't get us (although some leeches attacked Heather).

Owen had disappeared completely. Apparently, he'd never come to bed that night.

We eventually ended up on land, but we didn't know whether it was Wawanakwa, or somewhere else. We didn't recognize it, so it was definitely nowhere near camp.

"Okayy..." said Gwen. "Is anyone else a little creeped by this deserted island?"

"P-lease!" snapped Heather. "Anyone can see that this is one of Chris' cheesy production sets with fake props."

"Like how the psycho killer thing was a hoax?" I challenged. "Me and Gwen had to face a _real_ one, remember?"

Heather kicked one of the rocks, and her face changed. Obviously real.

"Drama queens, we've obviously just drifted downstream." Duncan stated coolly. "The producers will send a search party."

"I doubt it." I sighed. "After so many people in this show defied death, no one's gonna come looking for teenagers gone missing."

Later on in the confessional, I recounted "Stuck on an island with my best female and male friends on this show, and _Survivor_ 's Jonny Fairplay of this reality show. Except with darker, longer hair and no 'dead grandma' lie. I didn't know how I was going to survive."

Duncan decided to just stay put for the search party, while Gwen suggested building a raft. They started arguing, until Heather cut in "Duh. We're not lost. This is just Chris' lame attempt at challenging our shipwrecked survival skills. I'm on to you, Chris!"

I scowled at Heather. "And you aren't doing anything, because that worked _soooo_ well last time you did that." I said sarcastically. "If this is another challenge, I'm going to start putting those skills to the test myself, just like when I followed the rules of horror movies. Doing nothing in a survival challenge or taking a shower alone in a horror movie challenge...it's no wonder you've lost everything since your only ally left."

Then we found the T-Rex skull and the treehouse. Well, Heather was screaming, so we all ran up to see what the problem was, and we had to agree, Duncan was probably wrong about just drifting further downstream. Maybe Gwen's idea to build a raft was the best idea.

Heather started saying that it was a survival challenge again, acting like it was her idea and ignoring me. Gwen continued insisting that this was real and we should build a raft. Duncan was convinced that the producers would try to find us in any case.

"I'm with Gwen." I said. "I think this is just a challenge, but then it would show initiative to build a raft and paddle back to camp, but because we don't know how far away we are, we need to get food before anything."

None of us could agree. "Fine." Duncan said. "Then let's make a new rule: Every camper for themselves."

"Fine!" the rest of us chorused. I went to find food, which was actually not that hard. Coconut and banana trees were everywhere. Even pineapples were around. After that, I went to see if I could find Gwen. If she was building a raft, no way was I missing out on getting on there.

Heather had a bunch of chocolate bars from a stash Owen had been keeping, but she refused to share after our agreement.

Gwen finished her raft, and began pushing it out. "Gwen, wait up!" I called. "Can I come? I've got food."

Duncan had a huge egg he'd taken from somewhere, and offered it in exchange for a ride, so Gwen reluctantly let both of us on.

Heather gasped. "Hey, you can't just form an alliance and leave me!"

"Bye, Heather, good luck." was Gwen's only reply.

"Don't go! Don't go – if you come back, I'll let you have Owen's bars!"

"We don't want them, Heather." I called to her calmly. "You won't starve as long as you have them."

Guess what. We only ended up on the other side of the same island. After my two friends got into _another_ argument, I left them, and suddenly I heard another scream.

"What's gotten into Heather _now_?" I muttered, trudging back to find the treehouse she had been in. As it turned out, she was screaming about some weirdly familiar wild guy trying to climb up. "Get away from me!" she cried, throwing stuff at him. After a chocolate bar knocked him down, he picked it up. "Mmmm...Mallowmars..."

Both Heather and I stared at the chubby guy with the blonde beard in the loincloth.

"... _Owen?_ Is that you?"

Heather jumped down from the treehouse and started snapping at him for scaring her, but he seemed happy to see her. "Heather! Is it really you? You're not a mirage?"

I stepped up. "Yes, Owen, keep pulling her hair to make sure she's real. You don't need to do it to me, though. I'm real." I sniffed. "Have you been in the outhouse all this time? Because I can tell."

Suddenly, Gwen and Duncan, both screaming, fell at our feet. Whatever they'd been having trouble with, they were both back. Owen was thrilled to have us all together.

That was when the python came, and we had to take refuge in the treehouse.

It was so boring, but there were bunks and it was a relatively nice place, so it wasn't too uncomfortable. Well, no, it was, but that was because Owen had befriended a coconut and seemed to think it was real. Its name was...Mr Coconut. Oh, that's original.

"That's it!" Heather finally snapped. "I am done with this game! I can't work with you guys any more because you're all crazy!"

"You say that like you're not." Duncan said, rolling his eyes.

"I am the only one left on this show with a shred of sanity."

"And this coming from the girl who changes friends more often then I change socks."

I rolled my eyes at this. "And this is why I've only dated a few times." I said.

"Which is so not often enough, by the way." Heather snapped. "At least I've got my game on."

"Yeah, but you could turn the meanness part of you off, right?" I quipped. "At least I'm only mean when people deserve it."

We had another little panic when Gwen insisted the producers thought we were dead and Owen freaked out, screaming that he'd never had a date. But when he calmed down, he said "Guys, you know what we have to do?"

"Run for our lives and leave you and Mr Coconut behind?" quipped Duncan.

"No, we need to confess our sins!" Owen said in a very serious tone. "Seriously, I confessed all my sins and it felt great! Don't you wanna clear your conscience before you die?"

We all exchanged glances. Owen had a point.

I won't tell you what everyone said, because it was their secret. But I told them all about Hillwood. About dating a little kid and letting him make me feel lust. About stealing one of my neighbour's many pink books she'd written her poems in and revelling in her big secret.

An hour later, Duncan finished telling his story. "So that's what you went to juvie hall for." Gwen said, wide-eyed.

"Yeah," Duncan said , "But at least it's not as bad as what Stephanie did."

"Like I had a choice." I said sarcastically. "And even if I had willingly made out with him, it's nowhere near as bad as what Heather did."

"I admit it was a little unorthodox," Heather said primly, "But it doesn't come close to what Gwen did, it that's even your real name."

But in spite of what Owen said, none of us really felt any better for having confessed our sins. We had to get out. And there was smoke nearby. Just in case it was a trick, we armed ourselves with weapons and face paint, and Owen knocked out the python with Mr Coconut.  
"Why didn't you do that hours ago?" Gwen hissed.

"What, and miss out on all our bonding?"

I gave a sigh. "Owen, you are one strange guy."

So we followed the smoke, and ran in, all yelling and brandishing our weapons.

"Hey, guys, it's about time you showed up."

It was just Chris and Chef.

It turned out that it was the production crew's secret location. All we were going to do that night was go to the campfire pit. Again. So we had to vote someone off. Again.

I voted for Owen, this time. Too nice. Too much of a threat in that way. Heather could go next, and then I wanted to have Duncan gone. That would leave Gwen and I in the final two. She was the only one I'd actually not feel bad losing to. Well, yeah, it would suck that she got the money and not me, but still.

Anyway, it wasn't like I'd made any promises and I wasn't going to write down these ideas, but those were my plans.

But as it was, Mr Coconut was voted off. I thought that meant I was safe, but then...

"Now for the original camper that was voted off..." I swallowed. Everyone else had a marshmallow.

"It can't be!" I whispered.

"Stephanie!" Chris grinned. "You've been voted off with him!"

I gave a sigh. "This sucks. Well, bye, guys." Owen had lost the beard and loincloth and was dressed back in his shorts and T-shirt, so I hugged him first. "I'll miss you, big guy."

Next, I hugged Duncan, harder. "Play hard." I murmured. "I'll tell Courtney you miss her, yeah?" I gave him a very fast, dry kiss on the cheek, just as a sign of friendship, and he gave me a friendly shove on my way.

"Go on, Stephie, get outta here." he said teasingly.

Last, I hugged Gwen. "You better win." I told her sternly. "And even if you don't, beat Heather. If she wins, I will give you hell."

Gwen smiled. "Thanks, Steph."

I just waved to Heather. "Bye, Unfairplay. I refer you to what Lindsay said to you when she left. I really hope karma catches up to you."

Then I walked down the dock, my head held high, and stepped into the Boat, letting it take me away.

 **So yes. That's where Stephanie got to – the final five. Not too bad, right?**


	27. Chapter 27

**Now, we're off to the Playa! Thanks for reviewing, Silver Writer 0927, Gage the Hedgehog, and SuperKitty4789.**

When I stepped off the boat to the place I'd be staying in until the finale, I gasped. Now this was the five-star resort on the application form. It was called Playa Des Losers, and everyone else was there, from Ezekiel to Leshawna.

It was great to see everyone again. Cody was out of his body cast and back to full form. The skunk spray had been long gone from Bridgette and she and Geoff were truly inseparable from then on. Izzy had befriended Eva and was now working on Noah. Ezekiel had discovered rap music and had started talking like a rapper and was trying to impress Bridgette with it. Courtney had discovered Harold had rigged the votes to get her kicked off and only wasn't killing him because she'd already hurt him enough and the rest of us wouldn't let her.

I hugged Leshawna when I got there. "Have you had things out with Harold yet?" I whispered.

She cast an anxious look at the geek. "Not yet, but I will."

I still got letters from my family. It was from Lisa, as usual:

 _Dear Stephanie,_

 _We just got the hunting episode, and I'm glad you didn't kill any of them. Did Gwen really get all those duck dishes she asked for?_

 _Bart loved the horror movie challenge, by the way. I was terrified when I realized you and Gwen were up against the real killer, but great job on that._

 _And as for the bike episode...have you still got your bike? Did you fix it? Are you going to try to bring it back to Springfield? And as for Lindsay...they bleeped out what she said, but good for her. And wow, she called you "Stephie"? You usually go ballistic when Mom calls you that, ever since you started second grade._

 _My predictions...well, now that Izzy's gone...when are you going to boot Heather? She should have already gone! If you don't take her out, I'm guessing you'll go for the nicest next. That's Geoff, isn't it? And probably Leshawna or Owen after that. I'll just have to wait and see. Wow, that's six weeks' worth of footage we've seen. And you obviously made it to the final five, since we made that video._

 _Hang in there! Good luck!_

 _Love, Lisa._

If only she'd known I was out. But it wasn't so bad. It was like a holiday, and a lot of fun to chill with everyone that had left before me. Everyone was chilling. Noah read all the time, Katie and Sadie drooled over Justin, Izzy swam most of the time, Bridgette and Geoff spent all their time making out in the hot tub, Lindsay kept trying to find Tyler (except she seemed to have forgotten who he was, so he kept telling her and she kept forgetting), and as for me? Well, I sunbathed most of the time. Trent was doing the same, so we kept each other company, swapping stories. The only time he got annoying was when he kept asking about Gwen.

Three days after getting the letter, another competitor arrived at Playa Des Losers. I should explain here that there were thirteen bedrooms in the Playa and one was locked, so everyone except one person had to share at one point or another. Leshawna didn't have anyone else in her room, so she let me share hers.

Anyway, off-topic, when I saw the Boat of Losers coming that night and noticed the person on the boat, I flew up to the room Bridgette and Courtney were sharing and pounded on the door.

Courtney answered. "Oh. Hi." she said, when she saw it was me. "If you're looking for Bridgette-"

"First, I know that if she's not in the spa, she's probably in Geoff's room," (He didn't have a roommate so far – someone told me that once they were reunited, they went up to one of the unused bedrooms immediately, which became Geoff's room for the rest of the stay – at least we didn't have to see them making out all the time), "and second, I'm not looking for Bridgette. The latest elimination's come, and there's someone here who I'm pretty sure wants to see you."

Courtney's face went from confusion, to surprise, to..."You mean..."

I gave her a friendly push. "Don't fear the feels, girl! Get down there and tell him how much you missed him!"

Yep, Duncan was the next person after me to be voted off. Chef, who drove the boat, also sent along the rough footage of the episode when we ended up on the other side of the island, so everyone watched it. Apparently, they got the rough cuts of every episode, although they had apparently brought the one at the Playa before I was eliminated (later on, I watched them, and got to hear some very interesting confessionals – although I'm not sure exactly why Cody felt the need to make air guitar sounds for a full ten minutes when he managed to grab Gwen as his canoeing partner), so this was only the twenty-third episode they'd seen.

First, my hair was a mess for most of the episode. Second, all our arguing and things sounded really dumb. Third, Owen's friendship with Mr Coconut became less disturbing and just became hilarious.

Later on that night, when everyone else was in bed, I sneaked down to go and watch the episode before that one, because I couldn't wait any longer to see it, and no one else would want to watch it with me.

It was very informative about what people thought about everyone. Heather was well-hated. There were some mixed things on Duncan (most people liked him, but Harold hated him and Lindsay called him cruel). People seemed to like both Owen and Gwen a lot, but Leshawna was definitely the most well-liked. As for me...well, there were words like "immature" and "sarcastic" floating around, but there was also "tough", "energetic", "honest", and even "cool", so I gathered that people did like me. Whatever, right?

The reason Leshawna was voted off seemed to be a chain reaction. Chris asked Katie and Sadie who they wanted to join them at the Playa first, and they both said they missed Leshawna the most, accidentally voting her off. Basically, whenever anyone said "Leshawna", that was counted as a vote, so Courtney said it, accidentally voting, then Lindsay said it twice, then Izzy said it while telling no one else to say it. A parrot said it twice, and when Trent protested Chris counting the parrot as a vote, he said it. Wow. At least I'd actually been voted off! Getting kicked off because people kept saying my name would suck.

 **One more chapter at the Playa, and then...well, you know what will happen!**


	28. Chapter 28

**So...what happened at the Playa after the Triple Dog Dare challenge?Thanks for reviewing, Silver Writer 0927 (um...not yet – Heather hasn't gone yet), SuperKitty4789, and Gage the Hedgehog.**

Chris came to the Playa the day after Duncan arrived. "Hey, losers." he greeted us. He said 'losers' in the way that meant we'd lost the game, not that we were actual losers, so we didn't care about the way he said it. "Hope you are all enjoying yourselves. Anyway, we've got a big challenge coming up for the semi-finals. We need you guys to all make up five dares for the other campers to do, in our challenge, which, I'll give you a spoiler...is called...I Triple Dog Dare You! Just think of how fun it will be to see Heather doing your dares."

That was a motivator! I liked Gwen and Owen and didn't want to make them have to do horrible dares, but the thought of Heather doing them made me write! They were:

Strip to your underwear and streak from the amphitheatre to the dock and back while singing the Song that Never Ends (that wouldn't be a problem for Owen, after all)

Do hand-to-hand combat with Chef (Izzy talked about how she'd done it in the hide-and-seek episode)

Pretend to be the last person who gave a dare for five minutes – and react exactly the way they would to everything

Listen to a smoke detector screeching for one full minute without blocking your ears once

Recite five nursery rhymes as enthusiastically as possible – with actions

I couldn't wait to see that last one happen, except I couldn't think that any of these apart from the combat one would faze Owen. Maybe the smoke detector one.

The next day, we all heard a scream that echoed across the island.

I looked up. "Did that sound like Heather to any of you?" I asked the others.

Lindsay gave a squeal. "Maybe she got one of my dares!"

Not long after that, the Boat of Losers arrived, and off stepped Heather. Most of us started snickering, and not just because she looked furious at having just barely missed being in the final two.

Her hair reminded me of a story Mom had told us about when she explained why there were no pictures of Maggie in our photo album, back when she was still a baby. Apparently, every time she told Dad she was pregnant, he tore out some of his hair. But even now, his three little hairs looked much neater than Heather's. I'll be honest, I'd envied Heather's thick, waist-length black hair. Now, her hair was chopped off unevenly. Some of it was just as long as usual, other locks were gone completely, her scalp showing.

"She got my dare!" Lindsay squealed excitedly.

"What was it?" I asked.

"Remember that torture I couldn't do?" Lindsay asked. "When Chef would cut off all my hair unless I eliminated myself? Well, before that, Heather threatened to cut off my hair if I went against her again...so I figured this was a good idea!"

In spite of myself, I gave Lindsay a hug. "The perfect payback! I remember you told Heather you hoped she got everything karma owed her...so she did!"

The tape of the episode Duncan was kicked off in also came, so we all watched it. In this case, Chef dropped the final four in the woods and split them into two groups, guys vs girls. Whichever group got to camp and touched the totem pole first got immunity.

In the end, the two teams started stealing supplies from each other. After encountering the legendary Sasquachanakwa (basically yeti) and got everything stolen, the girls admitted defeat, and the boys took pity. Owen even gave Gwen a sleeping bag and Duncan (unwisely) let Heather cuddle with him when she said she was too scared to sleep (Courtney shot him a death glare at that part). By the time the guys woke up, the girls had gone, and taken all the supplies with them – Heather had managed to take the map Duncan was keeping under his shirt. The girls ended up with immunity, and chose to vote Duncan off.

Heather didn't watch the episode, even though it was a good one for her, instead, locking herself in one of the rooms (as it turned out, she'd have to share with Eva – there were no empty rooms left and everyone else was too scared to share with her) and from what we heard, shaving what was left of her hair. At least everything was even, now. She got a wig sent to her the same day. It looked like her real hair, just scruffy at the top.

So far, everyone at the Playa was pretty friendly with at least one other person. When Lindsay wasn't making out with Tyler, she was chatting to Beth. Izzy bounced between moody Eva and sarcastic Noah, basically being their friend without their pemission. Even in the rare moments where Bridgette and Geoff weren't together, they had a ton of friends, because everyone liked them. Katie and Sadie had each other, and Justin seemed happy to let them drool over him, while he got better acquainted with his reflection. As for me, I was friends with pretty much all the guys that were on my team, apart from that sexist creep Ezekiel (although luckily, the only girl he paid attention to any more was Bridgette, and she'd made it plain she wasn't interested). Apart from that, I also had Bridgette and Leshawna, and although I would never actually have any kind of romantic relationship with any guy on this show, I still spent quite a bit of time with Duncan in particular.

The point I'm making is...well, twenty of us losing competitors had been welcomed (well, nineteen, since Ezekiel arrived alone). As for Heather, no one welcomed her. Barely anyone even spoke to her. Even Courtney was friendly with Bridgette! Lindsay and Beth were especially careful to avoid Heather.

It was a lot of fun to hang out at the Playa. We had about four days left at the Playa before the eight weeks were over, days where all twenty-three of us were hanging out. Gwen and Owen would be joining us very, very soon.

However, there was one more episode to go for this season. And we'd all be returning to the island for it.

 **Short chapter, I know, but next episode is the finale!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Let's continue...let's, dare I say it, finish the season! Well, there's the special, but...anyway, thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog,** **shahmeeralikhokhar (sorry, but it was kind of fixed from the start)** **and SuperKitty4789.**

We were all going to watch the final showdown, where Gwen and Owen performed the final challenge, and one person would come out with a cheque for one hundred grand.

As we all walked up to the starting point of the race and sat down on the bleachers, we saw the two finalists. It felt like ages since I'd been kicked off, even though it had barely been a week.

"Hey, guys!" Owen greeted us cheerfully. Gwen said nothing, looking a little worried and blushing when Trent passed, giving a smile her way.

The sets of bleachers each had a poster sporting a finalist's face – we had to sit with the people who were rooting for the same finalists. No contest – I sat down on the bleachers with the rest of Gwen's supporters. Plenty of the friends I'd made were Owen supporters, but at least I didn't have to sit with Heather.

Gwen immediately noticed Heather's wig. "Nice rug."

"Oh, bite me." Heather retorted. Izzy, who was sitting behind her, reached out before Heather slapped her hands away. "Stop touching my hair, crazy girl!"

Before Chris told us about the challenge, he asked the finalists to tell us what they would do with the money, and why they thought they deserved it.

Gwen told us that she was proud of herself for making it so far. "If I can survive this, maybe the rest of high school won't be so bad." she joked. Izzy burst out laughing.

Gwen continued, telling us that she'd promised to split her winnings with Owen earlier, and with the rest of the money, she'd travel the world and then spend the remainder on studying art history at university.

"Yeah, that's it!" cheered Leshawna from beside me (I was sitting between her and Eva). "Girlfriend's got some goals!"

"Very cool." added Trent, who was on the other side of Eva.

Owen's rebuttal was short and sweet. "I'd throw the biggest hugest sickest party ever, and invite everyone here!"

All of Owen's supporters stood up and started cheering. At that moment, Katie, Sadie, Justin, Bridgette and DJ all got up from the Gwen-supporter bleachers and switched sides, supporting Owen. That left just me, Eva, Trent, Leshawna, Cody and Lindsay supporting Gwen.

"At least not all of you are total sellouts." Gwen scowled.

"Oh, and I forgot!" Owen added. "It'll be on a yacht!"

Lindsay, a guilty look on her face, switched sides. I debated it, but didn't move. Parties were fun, but not fun enough to make me switch sides. Yeah, a yacht party hosted by one of the two party animals of Total Drama Island would be out of this world compared to any other party I'd been to, but who said I'd even be able to go? I wasn't going to be in Canada for that long.

The final challenge was the reject Olympics. Gwen and Owen each had to wear a hat – Gwen's was a chicken, Owen's was a cow. Then they'd both have to get up a flagpole and grab the flag at the top. After that, they'd cross a chasm on a rickety plank, with sharks below. As they did, they'd carry an eagle egg. The rest of it was a sprint to the finish.

"Good luck, Owen." Gwen smiled. "If I had to lose to anyone here, it'd be you."

"Aw, that's so nice!" Owen said with a grin. "I hope you lose to me, too!"

"Yeah, go, Owen!" Geoff called out. "We wanna party!"

"You're gonna get one!" Owen yelled back. "Woohoo!"

"Go, Gwen!" Leshawna called. "Kick his butt, girl!"

"You can do it, Gwen!" Trent called.

I couldn't think of anything creative, so I just called out "Go, Gwen!"

Leshawna looked at Eva, and I nudged the butch girl.

"I don't cheer." Eva said flatly.

It was game time, but the thing was...Chris didn't seem to care what anyone did. So that meant that we could help the finalists without them being disqualified. About half of Owen's supporters helped him out all they could, especially Heather and Izzy. On Gwen's side, Trent ran alongside her for the whole race, although from the conversation I heard while tailing Gwen (in case I could help later on), although she wasn't angry about the Heather thing anymore, she didn't trust him, either.

Gwen got to the flagpole first, but had trouble, because _someone_ had rubbed butter all over it. At that point, Trent actually rubbed it down with his shirt to help her, while a bunch of Owen's supporters had to push him up his one.

"How do I get down?" I heard Owen asking as I followed Gwen.

Next was the walk across the chasm, so I went back to get to the other side. I was soon joined by a bunch of the others, including Duncan, Courtney, and of course, Trent. He waved to Gwen, and as she started to cross, Owen arrived, with Heather, Izzy and Geoff around him. Heather was saying something to him that I couldn't hear from the other side, while Owen just smiled, agreeing. Gwen nearly lost her balance, starting to lose focus. She finally seemed to be starting to get back on track.

"That's it, get your balance back, and stay calm!" Trent called out.

Owen started panicking for his opponent's sake. "Oh no! Hang on, Gwen, you can do it! Just don't fall into the shark-infested waters!"

"You're really not helping, Owen!" Gwen called, starting to get her balance back.

"Sorry!"

Heather had joined the rest of us, so I heard her mutter "When is that stupid cupcake gonna kick in?"

I turned back to her. "What cupcake?"

Heather shrugged innocently. "Oh, nothing."

I scowled. "If said cupcake has been eaten, what harm could telling me do?" I snatched her wig off. "Tell me!"

"Give me that!" Heather snapped, trying to reach. I was taller than her and held it over her head, deliberating whether I should hold it over the chasm.

"Not until you tell me about the cupcake!"

"Okay, okay, I put laxitives in a cupcake and left it outside Gwen's cabin!" Heather admitted. "Now give it back!"

I shrugged and dropped the wig.

At that same moment, eagles began circling over Gwen and Owen, angry that they'd taken their eggs.

"Oh snap, that is messed up!" Duncan exclaimed, chuckling.

Courtney looked at him incredulously. "What, you mean you like watching this? They could die!"

"Aw, mellow your yellow, babe, this is awesome TV!"

"Why would I want to watch Gwen and Owen risk their lives?"

"This is life at it's most raw. Check out 'Elvis' here with his guitar. One misstep – his girlfriend is shark bait. Now that would make for an interesting song." It was true. Trent's face was horrified as he watched Gwen.

Courtney's face changed. Suddenly, she pulled Duncan into a kiss. After she let him go, she caught her breath and said "You're still not my type."

"You make me sick." replied Duncan. They kissed again, and I honestly didn't feel jealous. Okay, maybe a little...but not really in the way you'd expect. I was cool with only having a friendship with Duncan. But I'd kissed my fair share of boys in my teenage years. So far, he was the best I'd ever come across – gentle but unyielding. Courtney was lucky to be dating someone who was that skilled at kissing, and I wondered for a moment if that wasn't all he was good at.

Believe it or not, Heather brought Justin over and tore his shirt off to distract Gwen. Thing was, it also distracted the eagles, and Owen.

Trent stepped in front of Justin. "Gwen, ignore the incredibly hot man candy, and keep walking!" Gwen obeyed, just a fraction before Owen. Worse for Owen's supporters, he was the one who had to lock himself in the outhouse confessional (it was the nearest toilet) after the cupcake. It turned out Gwen had given it to him, so Heather's plan to slow Gwen down had backfired, big time.

"Try to avoid the confessional for awhile." Gwen grinned as Heather fumed. Leshawna, Cody and I were following her.

"That's it, go, girl!" Leshawna called. "You got it!"

"So just to clarify," I heard Trent say to Gwen, "You're not mad at me anymore?"

"Nope."

"But you don't trust me either?"

"Right again."

"Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"Um...no, nothing comes to mind."

You won't believe this, but Trent continued racing alongside her, and carried a boulder the whole way, claiming that it was the only way he could get through to her about how in love he was. Gwen just told him she thought he was crazy.

It looked like the winner was definite. Gwen was an obvious winner, but you wouldn't believe what Izzy did. She made brownies, and made Lindsay get Chris' industrial fan from his trailer to blow the scent towards Owen. He broke into a sprint instantly, and passed Gwen easily. Within ten seconds, the tension had broken and Owen had won the hundred grand.

Oh, and after Heather started whining because Lindsay accidentally turned the fan the wrong way at first and blew her wig off, Leshawna and I locked her into the confessional. Going in there after Owen – a fate worse than death.

At least Gwen seemed okay, even though Owen had knocked her over, and she was a bit stunned.

"You okay?" Trent asked her.

"Yeah, just remind me to never get between Owen and a brownie again."

Everyone was cheering, and Owen even kissed Izzy on the cheek, several times. And at least we had a party.

Trent helped Gwen to her feet and began to walk over when she asked "Aren't you forgetting something?" She pointed at the boulder.

Trent raised an eyebrow and picked Gwen up. "Put me down!" she cried, although she was still smiling.

"Say you'll go out with me." Trent answered. "Come on, say it!"

"Okay, okay, I'll go out with you!"

Owen came over to them. "You guys are going out? Awesome! You're coming to my party together!"

That night was the last bonfire ceremony, so we all watched as Owen received the final marshmallow and his cheque.

"What can I say, Chris?" he said. "I'm so psyched. This is just..."  
"Awesome?" all of us chorused.

"Yes! Party next week, everyone!"

Although I was sad that I hadn't won, I was happy for Owen. Sure, I would've preferred for Gwen to win, but it could've been much worse. As I'd mentioned earlier, Owen was just like a big teddy bear. There were so many people who deserved it less.

"Yo, Owen!" Geoff called out. "You know what it's time for?"

Owen nodded. He eyed Chris wickedly, making the host look worried.

But he was a lot more worried as Owen, Duncan and Geoff carried him down the dock. "No, no, guys, my hair!" We finally got to watch, as the three of them tossed Chris into the water.

We all burst out laughing.

"I've been wanting to do that all summer!" Chef said. "How do you like that, pretty boy? Huh?"

"Oh, Chef..." sang Geoff.

"You're next, dude!" Owen finished, and all three of them chased him.

Gwen nudged a scowling Heather. "Aw, come on! You gotta be a little bit happy to see him get dunked."

"No." Heather insisted for a moment. I raised my eyebrows at her, and she finally smiled. "Yeah..."

It was back to the Playa for a couple of days, to chill until the eight weeks were up.

Or so I thought.

 **We all remember what's coming next!**


	30. Chapter 30

**The special is upon us! Wanna guess who Stephanie will team up with? Thanks for reviewing, StarHeart Specials, SuperKitty4789 and Gage the Hedgehog.**

It was great to just chill and hang out with everyone. We didn't have to be different to how we usually were. Even Heather chilled out a little, although she was still friendless. At one point, Leshawna even drew a smiley face on the back of her head when she stopped bothering to wear her wig around the Playa. Even Chef came and hung out, and most of the food he made was not only edible, but actually good.

Life was good for those couple of days. Katie and Sadie drooled over Justin. Owen and Izzy hung out together. At one point, Eva and I were hanging around with Gwen, and she was talking about how she didn't care that she lost and that she was happy for Owen. However, insisting that she didn't care wasn't really realistic when Owen was running around, singing "Kicked your butt and I won!" and yelling "I got one hundred thousand dollars!"

Eventually, Gwen excused herself, and Owen gained a wedgie. Eva and I exchanged glances as Gwen came back. "What?" she said. "It was an accident."

I giggled. "Well, he was kind of asking for it."

Leshawna had to gently let Harold down, but he perked up a little when she told him that she'd still like to hang out with him, just as friends. As she left after talking to him, though, I heard him calling "I'll win you over, Leshawna! I love you!" Poor guy. As for other couples...Courtney was back to being uptight, and Duncan was unimpressed by that, but he was clearly still into her. Bridgette and Geoff hadn't left each other's lips alone since the finale, unless they were turning the bubbles on in the hot tub (after Bridgette did that, she actually jumped at Geoff and accidentally bruised his eye).

Someone had started making fanblogs about Total Drama, and had even given us labels, like Gwen was "the Loner", Heather was "the Queen Bee", Duncan was "the Delinquent" and so on, all the way down to Ezekiel, "the Homeschooled Guy". I was "the Social Goth". Eh, could be worse. Like Tyler was "The Jock Who Sucks At Sports", and Beth was "the Wannabe". Being known as the social goth was a lot better than either of those.

The person who was making the fanblogs also had a vlog about each episode of Total Drama, so I watched a few. I stopped after three, because I couldn't stand the sound of her screechy voice, and, I mean, did she _have_ to go on in minute detail about Cody hitting on Gwen in one episode, or getting accidentally dumped in the lake by Beth when he was eliminated, or just about anything involving Cody? There was twenty-three of us to talk about – she did not have to fixate on one guy who didn't even make it that far! She also didn't have to spend her vlogs giggling and squeeing every minute, and apart from anything else, what was up with her hair? I have no problem with purple, but it really clashed with her clothes and skin tone.

Then came the last day. The next day was when I was going to fly home. I had gotten a letter from Lisa beforehand:

 _Dear Stephanie_

 _You should get this two days before you come home! I can't believe it, can you? And on that point, we only just got the episode where you were kicked off. A few people thought you were a threat. I guess you know who wins now. Please tell me when you get home before it airs – it wasn't Heather, was it? I've decided I'm rooting for Gwen. Duncan and Heather don't deserve it, and Owen's nice, but he hasn't worked for it like she has._

 _Do you know what people said about you during the episode where they kicked Leshawna off? I couldn't believe it was you – my sister – that everyone was talking about! Dad started giving us opinions on everyone. He's rooting for Owen now. Bart's rooting for Duncan. Mom, Maggie and I all want Gwen to win._

 _By the way, I was very close to rooting for Geoff before he left. I can see why you guys voted him off – he was a major threat because of how nice he was. I kind of wish I could meet him._

 _We miss you. See you soon!  
Love, Lisa_

Then came the day that Chris came to the Playa again. He was holding a suitcase. Suddenly, Chef took Owen's cheque off him.

"Hello, campers!" Chris grinned around at us.

"That's ex-campers to you." Duncan told him.

"Yeah, your twisted game is over, remember?" Heather added.  
"We'll see about that." Chris said, as he and Chef snickered. I wondered what they were up to.

The thing was, Chris had another plan – a choice for Owen. What was going to happen was, there was a million dollars in that suitcase he had. If Owen chose, he could try to win it. Chris would hide it somewhere on the island, and whoever found it and brought it to the Dock of Shame first got to keep it. Or, the other choice was, Owen could keep the money he'd won. There was a pause while Owen made the decision.

"…"

"Game on, baby! Yeah!" Owen cheered. Chef tore the cheque in half.

At first, the rest of us weren't so keen, even when Chris let us know that he would give out hints throughout the day. As Noah-it-all put it, "I'd love to play another round of humiliate the teens, but I've got a buffet to eat."

"Fine, suit yourselves." Chris shrugged. "I'm sure Owen will be happy to have no competition while he makes the easiest million dollars in TV history."

"Fine." Gwen said.

"Fine!" Lindsay echoed.

"Yeah, right." Justin finished.

But as Owen ran around the Playa and out into the woods, cheering about how he was going to be a millionaire, our thoughts changed. Finally, Katie started to cough repeatedly. Cody began whistling. And finally, we all got tangled, trying to get out there first.

Beth spoke up. "Hey, I've got an idea! Let's work together as a team! We can split the prize twenty-three ways and share it!"

We all paused, before continuing to fight. "Worst idea EVER!" I yelled out.

Finally, everyone began teaming up in groups from two to four. Owen teamed up with Tyler, Cody and DJ. Beth and Lindsay teamed up, and they let Ezekiel tag along. Trent, Gwen and Leshawna grouped together, while Katie and Sadie followed Justin. Geoff and Bridgette also teamed up, but I doubted they'd look up from making out long enough to do anything. Courtney and Duncan worked together, and I saw Heather going from group to group, but when Harold opened his mouth to offer to work with her, she said no before he could speak.

And as for my team...well, Izzy pulled me into her group. Owen's team was going on about how tough they were as we passed.

"Get over yourself." Eva said, shoving Tyler to the ground. Noah passed with her, and finally Izzy, pulling me along.

Izzy laughed at Tyler. "That was funny! You stupid guy!" Yep, I'd teamed up with the tough girl, the crazy girl, and the sarcastic bookworm. A pretty good team, actually. We had the muscle in Eva, the brains in Noah, the energy in Izzy, and as for me? Well, I considered myself the most observant. If anyone spotted the suitcase, it would be me. Our labels made us sound a lot more impressive, though – the ones that the blogger had made up – Izzy was the "Psycho Hose Beast", Eva was the "Female Bully", and Noah was the "High IQ".

Searching for the million was a lot more fun than I'd thought, mainly because of the mix of people we had. But we had no luck for the first few hours.

Finally, Chris' voice echoed through the loudspeakers. "Okay, this is pathetic, campers! It's been two hours now and no one has even come close to finding the suitcase. So here's your first clue: It's just 'hanging around'."

"How many square hectares is this island again?" Noah asked, looking around. "It's hopeless."

"Just keep looking." Eva ordered. "You wanna win, or not?"

"Stop being lazy, Noah." I advised. "Last time you were lazy, you got twenty people closer to a hundred grand, and you weren't one of them."

"Guys, up here!" Izzy was in the branches above us. "The suitcase must be in a tree! To find it, we must think like the tree! We must be tree creatures! Okay, see what the tree sees!" She hung upside down from the branch, humming.

I exchanged glances with the others. "Should I be worried about her?" I asked.

"She was at the resort after she ran away from the RCMP, so I know her pretty well by now." Eva answered. "That's what I was going to say when I left for the second time – that she was at the Playa. Trust me, this is her normal behaviour." Although her voice was still harsh when she spoke to anyone, she seemed a bit more relaxed around just us.

"Coming through!" Izzy was now swinging on a vine, just as Courtney and Duncan came running past.

"I think I see it!" Izzy called out.

Courtney gasped. "She sees the suitcase! We can't let her have it!" She grabbed onto Izzy's vine, and the two girls began fighting.

"Yeah, that's my girl!" Duncan cheered. Obviously, Izzy hadn't actually seen the suitcase, she was just being...Izzy. Soon enough, Courtney left us alone and she and Duncan disappeared off somewhere else.

I made a confessional. "I didn't realize how insane Izzy was until now – I knew she was crazy, but she's much crazier than I thought. But Eva's actually nice when she's not angry – I mean, I already knew that, since I get along with her, but she's usually so moody around the Playa. And I didn't realize how smart Noah is – but apart from that, he's also pretty funny."

I was really glad to be on this team.

 **Yes, I chose to stick Stephanie on Team E-Scope! They're one of my favourite groups – could we just have a spin-off show about the three of them (there's a poll on my profile about that...wanna vote)? If only they'd put Eva on World Tour, then we could've seen her hanging out with them (and possibly Owen). It'd be cool to see Eva on Team Chris Is Really Really Really Really Hot with mostly guys plus Izzy, wouldn't it? Anyway, had to cut up the special, so we'll pick up again next chapter.**

 **One more thing. The scene where Gwen gives Owen a wedgie for running around savouring his victory was in a promo I saw on YouTube.**

 **And...did anyone notice the early cameo of a certain character who wasn't there this season?**


	31. Chapter 31

**Let's continue the special. Thans for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog, Silver Writer 0927, EmEm811, SuperKitty4789 and GamehunterMC.**

"Attention, campers!" Chris' voice blared through the speakers. "The case is wet! Repeat, the case is wet!"

"Head for the beach!" I called to my team. But of course, Izzy stayed in the treetops, and ended up falling onto the shore, on top of...Courtney. We'd heard her ditching Duncan after he twisted his ankle, but we'd been too busy catching up with Izzy to dwell on it.

But this time, it was a good thing. After Courtney went down, the case just fell into Izzy's hands. "Wow, that was good luck! Except for her head." Eva and I followed her quickly.

Noah slowly passed Duncan, though. "So, your girlfriend turned on you, huh? Hate to see that happen. Bet you feel like a loser about now, huh? Less of a man."

"Enough of a man to take your head off, geek!" Duncan threatened, and soon, Noah was running with the rest of us, screaming more like a little girl than us girls did.

"Noah, hurry up!" Eva called.

"Hey, get back here!" Courtney screeched after us. "No one is stealing the money that I stole!"

So how come we managed to lose her?

"You run like a girl." Eva commented to Noah.

"Forgot my 'roids back at the gym." he deadpanned.

"I'm thinking of changing my name." Izzy remarked. "Yeah – to Kaleidoscope. Isn't that pretty? You could call me E-Scope for short."

"Sounds like an interesting name, E-Scope." I chuckled. "Personally, I'd stick to my given name."

Suddenly, we skidded to a stop. Justin was just...standing there.

"Watch it!" Eva warned. "It's a trap!"

"Justin. The anti-me." Noah said evenly. "So we meet again."

Izzy gasped. "Whatever you guys do, don't look him in the eyes! He has powers!"

"Give me the case." Justin said calmly.

"Are you kidding us!" I scowled, not looking at him properly.

"Back off, really hot guy!" Izzy shouted.

Justin raised an eyebrow as he spoke. "I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice..." This time, I couldn't take my eyes off him as he took his shirt off. But it didn't matter if I couldn't. Izzy was the one holding the case.

"Izzy, don't fall for it!" Noah cried. "Look away!"

"I can't!" Izzy gasped. "He's too beautiful!"  
I stared at Justin, drinking in his appearance. He was too perfect to believe it. I'd always called him a Ken doll before, but no Ken could be that perfect.

Izzy handed over the case as I voiced my agreement with Izzy. "Let him have it...he's just so amazing..."

"He's so pretty..." Eva added dreamily. "He deserves this..."

"Thank you." Justin said, flashing us his perfect smile, then walking away.

Five seconds later, we all snapped out of it. "What happened? Where's the case?" Izzy shrieked.

"You just handed it to a male model." Noah told her. He scowled at Eva and I. "And a lot of good you two were."

I hung my head. "I can't believe I let him do that."

"I'm so ashamed." Eva groaned.

"Me too." I agreed.

"You two should be." Noah told us. "Iron Woman and Moody Goth Girl – that was seriously pathetic." There was no denying he was right, although I didn't appreciate what he'd called me.

"Yeah – save us the insults and don't call me that again." I snapped. "Even 'Stephie' when it doesn't come from a certain guy friend of mine is better than that. But save your remarks for that sneaky model, Noah-it-all. He's the one who deserves them." I couldn't help sneaking in my pun on our smart guy.

"Attention, campers!" Chris called from the speakers. "The case is now somewhere beautiful...and headed towards camp!"

Izzy spoke up. "E-Scope is not going to let him get away with this, no matter how hot he is! Come on!"

"Yeah, we'll crush his skull!" Eva roared.

"A little too far." Noah told her.

"Sorry."

"What about grabbing the case and hitting him over the head with it before taking it to the dock?" I suggested.

Eva gave an unsettling grin. "Sounds like something I would do."

Izzy brought us to the fish cabin, where she found some of the stuff from the paintball hunting challenge. She made us all wear orange glasses, and put antlers on Eva and I, with camoflage caps on herself and Noah.

"Remind me why we're getting dressed up again?" Noah asked.

"I feel kind of dumb." Eva muttered.

"Can I at least have a cap and not antlers?" I complained.  
"No!" Izzy responded. "We're doing this because that way, he won't see us coming! Now remember, the minute you have that pretty boy Justin in your sight, fire at will!" She tossed each of us a bucket. "And then, take the case back! Have you got that?"

The three of us saluted. "Yes, Sergeant E-Scope!"

The first thing we saw was Katie, Sadie, Bridgette and Geoff running from a moose.

"Retreat, retreat, retreat!" screeched Izzy.

"Look up!" I pointed. There was a hot air balloon, the basket holding the four-guy alliance of Owen, DJ, Cody and Tyler, and Courtney. And they had the case.

"Justin doesn't have the case!" I hissed. "Should we keep going, Sargeant E-Scope?"

Izzy was adamant that we go for Justin, even when it was clear that Courtney had it.

Next, Lindsay got hold of it, but guess what? Justin appeared out of nowhere, asked Lindsay for the case, and she _gave it back to him_.

"Not so fast, pretty boy!" Izzy cried. "FIRE!" Eva, Noah and I were on the bathroom roof, so we tipped our buckets of water on Justin, and he started to scream.

"Try this!" Izzy dumped a bucket of bait over his head and took the case. "I'm a zillionairess! All right! Yeah!"

Noah and Eva didn't get off the roof as fast as I did, but I ended up in the water like fourteen others, including Izzy. But whether in the water or not, all of us saw a shark eat the case.

"So, you lost the case." Chris stated to me and the other competitors in the water – Duncan, Gwen, Izzy, Leshawna, Trent, Owen, Heather, Harold, Lindsay, Beth, Bridgette, Geoff, Justin and and DJ. "Way to go. I didn't wanna do this, but since none of the fifteen of you officially won, you all officially tied." He began to grin. "Which means that you will have another shot at winning the million dollars!" They all cheered. "In Season Two!"

Okay, that wasn't fun. None of us wanted to compete again, nor did we agree to it.

"Actually, you did." Chris told us. "It's called the fine print. Read it, live it, love it!"

"I HATE the fine print!" Gwen snapped.

The rest of the competitors were told that they'd watch from the sidelines, although Courtney was furious, saying she wanted another chance.

"But Chris, what about my contract?" I protested. "Aren't the rules different for non-Canadians?"

Chris' grin didn't waver. "Oh yeah." He snickered. "But you're still competing, Steph. Check the fine print – you still have to compete – just...you still have to do schoolwork, and you get homework sent on from your school for the next six weeks!"

I gasped. Gwen gave me a sympathetic glance. Chris went on to let us know that we would be taken to a new location in two days. The show would be in an abandoned film lot, and called Total Drama Action.

That night, while everyone else got a chance to go home, I was stuck at Playa Des Losers on my own. It was no fun without everyone else, but hey, at least I got a chance to hang in the hot tub without Bridgette and Geoff monopolizing it!

 **Yep! I haven't written TDA properly, so...I lied. I'm doing the next season with Stephanie. Also, I really want to put Stephanie on the Killer Grips, even though all of her closest friends are Gaffers. Thoughts?**


	32. Chapter 32

**Okay, let's keep going. TDA, here we come! Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog (It's Steph, though), and SuperKitty4789 (I like TDA more now – I originally wasn't planning to do it with Stephanie at all but decided it would make for some interesting interactions, so don't worry, she'll be around for a while).**

The day before I was due to report to the movie lot, I got another letter from home. Mom had written this one.

 _Stephanie,_

 _I've just gotten an email from the Total Drama producers, telling me that you're obligated to compete in the second season and Springfield High will send you work each week. Did you realize that was on your contract? I am furious at the showrunners, but I suppose you'll have to. Everyone wishes you luck, and we'll keep sending you letters – they gave us an address for the movie lot. I've already sent on a care package for you there._

 _We've just watched the Triple Dog Dare challenge, and the finale and special is tomorrow. We'll continue watching. Your father says hi and that he misses you a lot._ (Huh, I bet he barely remembers who I am. Now that's something he and Owen wouldn't have in common). _Stay safe, sweetheart._

 _Love, Mom_

When the bus taking me to the movie lot came, I jumped on to find everyone else for the season there. I waved to my friends, gave Heather the "I'm watching you" gesture, and flopped down on one of the seats with my bag. I spent most of the drive sketching out a would-be promotional picture for TDA, with a all of us smiling out and waving. I even sneakily drew Gwen and Trent holding hands and had Geoff with his arm around Bridgette.

Finally, we were dropped in front of a movie lot. Gwen and Heather had a fight when they were getting off the bus.

"Step off!" snapped Heather.

"You step off!" Gwen snapped back. I gave both of them a little shove, but I didn't expect them to both fall, also knocking over Harold.

It was deserted, but there was really nothing to do but wait.

"I am not hanging around here." Heather scowled.

"You gonna give up the chance at a million big ones?" Leshawna asked her. "That's a lot of hair weaves." Heather scowled at her. She was wearing her wig, but however much it looked like her real hair (and it was pretty close), we could all tell it wasn't quite right.

"Face it." Beth spoke up. "The money's the reason we all put up with Chris!"

Trent looked at her longer than usual. "Beth, you got your braces off! Nice!"

I took a second look at her, and realized he was right. Beth still had that little-girl lisp that I'd assumed was because of her braces, but as it turned out, I was wrong. Her braces were gone, and his smile was perfect.

Justin's blue eyes were fixed on Beth. "Hot as ever." (Later on, I discovered that he was actually talking about his reflection, and he was using Beth's teeth as a mirror).

Obviously, Leshawna could tell, because she shoved Justin out of the way and told Beth "You look fi-i-ine, girl!"

"You really do." Gwen and I said in unison.

"You are totally on the way to looking the part of my new BFF!" Lindsay gushed. "That's my new Best French Friend. I am _so_ moving to France when I win."

"My mom said my world would totally open up when I got my braces off!" Beth exclaimed. "She was right! I'm going to France!" Both girls jumped up and down.

Chris finally deigned to show up, and we all got on the weird bus thing he was driving. Well, everyone except Izzy. Owen called to her, but she didn't respond.

I nudged Owen. "She changed her name during the special." I reminded him. While everyone had been packing at the Playa before they left, Izzy had gone around telling everyone that her name was Kalidescope from then on.

Owen sighed. "I mean, Kalidescope!"

Izzy immediately looked up. "No one leaves E-Scope behind!" She ran to catch up, doing a few flips and landing beside Owen.

Chris told us all about what was going to happen in the next six weeks. Challenges and all that from last season, but there were a few new things. Instead of the Dock of Shame and the Boat Of Losers, we would walk down the red carpet – the Walk of Shame, and leave in the Lame-o-sine.

We passed the new confessional – the makeup trailer, which I made a stop at within the next hour: "Well, the confessional's better. The place is closer to home. But one season was enough!"

Then we passed the craft services tent, where we'd eat. Chef was back too, so the meals wouldn't be any better, sadly.

Then we passed the elimination ceremony auditorium, where we had to receive a Gilded Chris award to stay in the game. I looked over at Gwen and we rolled our eyes at each other.

Now, it was time for our challenge. An animatronic monster would be chasing us around the lot, and we had to try to get to our trailers (basically where we would sleep) before the monster got us. I mean, because we were on a film lot, every challenge would be based on movie genres. This time we were doing monster movies.

DJ took one look at the monster and passed out.

"And...action!" Chris called out. There was a pause. "That means go."

We all made a run for it. I decided to go it alone, looking around every few seconds for the monster. At one point, I passed Bridgette and Geoff, who were making out.

"How are we supposed to know where the actors' trailers are anyway?" I heard Gwen say, further up.

"Follow the good-looking people!" Justin called as he passed me.

Beth ran after him. "Yeah, follow Justin!"

I followed the rest of them, just I heard Duncan called "I don't think this is the kind of action Chris had in mind!" Indicating the blondes.

Considering how many people were caught before me, I think I did okay. Izzy had disappeared, and Owen was absent, but everyone else was there.

"I'm not scared of you!" I yelled at the giant monster. "Be careful with me – I can fight!" I actually did try to get out of the monster's grip, but that was impossible. He dropped me into a bouncy castle with everyone else.

Owen was the only one left that wasn't caught, because he was too heavy for the monster to handle, but he didn't get to the trailers until morning.

That's when we found out where Izzy was. The monster lowered her down, also squashing one of the trailers as she called "Thanks for the date, baby! Don't ever leave me! Cause I'd find you!"

"How did you escape?" Duncan asked her.

"The monster and me had a romantic date." Izzy answered. "He doesn't take no for an answer. Pretty crazy, I can't even tell you guys."

There was one more challenge, boys vs girls, which Owen won. He took one look at all the food on the table, and ate all of it. Before Chris told him it was all fake – it was foam core food, and Owen found the key to the trailers while eating.

The challenge meant Owen got his pick of the trailers for the boys. "I choose the squashed one." he said. "What? It has more character!"

Us girls cheered...until the monster squashed our trailer too. Good thing he fixed them before we were sent to our trailers for the night.

"Okay, everyone!" Chris called. "Get a good night's sleep, because you've got a seriously early wake-up call! Call time is six am! Sleep quickly!"

The first thing we had to do, though, was to choose who got what bed. There were eight of us, and no one wanted to share with Heather. She demanded a bed on the east side "so I'm closer to the ocean".

Leshawna snapped that it was a stupid reason . "We're in Toronto! We're nowhere near the ocean!"

"Then maybe I don't want to lay my pretty head near this big-butted, loudmouthed, mall-shopping-"

"And maybe none of us want to sleep near a girl who would slit our throats for money in a second!" I shot back.

"Don't tempt me." Heather scowled.

Bridgette whistled. "Girls! You heard Chris, we need to be on set by six am!"

"Worried we might cut into your early morning makeout session?" Leshawna teased, making kissing noises.

"Yes!" Bridgette admitted. "Kind of." She looked at all of us. "Gwen?"

"She's already sharing her bunk with me!" I butted in. "No way is either of us going to share with Heather."

Lindsay and Beth also wanted to pair up, Lindsay saying that she didn't want Heather's meanness to rub off on her. That left Bridgette, Leshawna and Izzy. In the end, poor Bridgette got the bunk below Heather. But that was okay. At least Heather didn't have it in for her...well, not as much as she did for Gwen, Leshawna or I, at least.

I took the lower bunk, while Gwen took the top one. Tomorrow morning would be the real thing.

 **I already know where Stephanie will place in this game. But you don't! Wanna take a guess?**


	33. Chapter 33

**Let's continue! Alien movie time! Thanks for reviewing, GamehunterMC, SuperKitty4789, Gage the Hedgehog and Bloody-Asphode11.**

I was hoping for a horror movie challenge next, since I'd done okay on the last one. I was sort of lucky, actually – it was a kind of horror movie.

But let's start with breakfast. Izzy poured ketchup on her pancakes, Owen only ate prunes, since his system was still clogged.

Then Chris came in. "Welcome to Day Two of Total! Drama! Action!"

"Are you gonna do that every time?" Duncan asked.

"Yes. Yes, I will. Today's movie genre: Aliens!"

Our challenge was to find an alien egg on set and get it back to home base before Chef (dressed up as an alien with a paintball gun) got us. The two fastest would pick the teams for the season.

"Sorry, losers, but no one knows alien movies like I do!" Duncan said shamelessly. "The more obscure, the better."

Gwen quoted an alien movie in reply – they had the same favourite. Trent tried to join in the conversation, but it wasn't much use – he just wasn't into those movies.

Chris gave us each a GPS, and it was time to start running. We all went through as a group.

"Hey, follow me!" Izzy said. "I know aliens! I've been abducted loads of times! There's a tracking device in my neck, see?" Harold peered at her neck.

Heather complained that we were the only dots on the screen. "Where's Chef?"

"How did you get in our group?" Justin asked her.

"There are no groups." Heather snapped at him.

As we walked along, we suddenly heard sucking noises. We all started getting worried. Something was in there.

"It must be Chef." Duncan concluded. "You wanna run, or you wanna kick some alien butt!"

"Let's kick some alien butt!" Gwen and I said, in unison again. Well, at least it wasn't as lame as Trent simply repeating it, obviously only trying to join in with Gwen.

"So, who wants to go first?" Harold asked. No one did...Leshawna and DJ both got out of it.

Owen put his arm around Izzy. "Don't worry, Izzy, I'll protect you."

The psycho redhead instantly proved she didn't need protecting. 'It's Kalideoscope. E-Scope for short."

"Okay, let's do this." DJ said finally. "Momma, if you're listening, you can have my limited edition Raptors cards!"

In the end, it was Beth who went first, declaring that she didn't go through years of wearing braces and getting teased just so she could hide. She stormed past all of us.

"Ohh..." we heard her say. "It's just Bridgette and Geoff."

I followed her. She was right. "Are you two even here to take part in challenges?" I asked. "The only thing you've done since you got here is that."

"Don't you two ever get tired of sucking face?" Duncan added.

Neither of them looked up.

"I'm thinking that's a no." Owen decided.

We all split up eventually.

"North is nice, but east is least..." Lindsay said thoughtfully. "West is best!" Her group ran off in one direction.

Gwen and Duncan said that alien eggs were always in the boiler room. Since they were the experts, I followed them. Geoff and Bridgette wanted to join us, but Duncan told them that "The lovebirds are on their own."

"Sorry, guys," I added, "But either you focus, or you're alone."

I don't know what happened to everyone else. As for Gwen, Duncan, Trent, DJ and I, we found the eggs straight off. But grabbing one was trickier. DJ got caught before he left the room, but the rest of us grabbed the eggs.

Duncan and I ended up slimed. but Gwen and Trent ducked the explosion.

"Does this mean we're out?" Duncan said, scowling.

"I guess." I muttered.

Gwen grinned at us and teased "Too bad, so sad. More money for me!"

"You four gave it a valiant effort," Chris said, parachuting down, "But you're still losers!" But then, Trent caught sight of two eggs, and gave one to Gwen, so they'd both won – team captains!

"Which means," Chris said, "They'll be competing against each other this season!" The couple stared at him in horror.

Tonight, we'd have a double elimination.

I'd already thought about my votes, as I said in the confessional. "Heather is gone. Totally. None of us want her, I'm sure. Anyone else...I think I'll vote Geoff. I need to vote one of them off to make the other focus a bit more on the game, and Bridgette's a great team player but not too strong on her own, whereas Geoff is both. Strategy, people!"

Underneath our seats in the auditorium, we had little machines where we cast our votes. Chef, dressed up for the awards in a sparkly pink gown, brought the awards.

The first ones went to the winners, of course. Then, "Harold, Duncan, and Izzy!"  
"E-Scope!" called Izzy.

"E-Scope." Chris repeated. "Stephanie, Lindsay, Beth and Justin are also safe!" Lindsay and Beth both hugged Justin. "Owen, my man. Next is DJ, surprisingly Heather, and last but not least..."

Leshawna, Bridgette and Geoff were left. Why, oh why had Heather not gotten enough votes? But I didn't dwell on that thought. Now that there were only three left, I had a good idea of who was going. I think I knew the way everyone else had voted.

"...Leshawna!"

My friend gave a squeal, hugged the two blondes, and then realized how insensitive she was being. "Oh, my bad."

"But – but.." Bridgette stammered, "I thought everyone liked us!"

"Liked being the operative word." Duncan said.

"Sorry, guys." I said. But they didn't seem to care. They made out all the way to the Lame-o-sine.

 **Let's keep going. Finally, the teams!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Right, time to pick teams! Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog, GIANTPANDAMAN and SuperKitty4789.**

We had a break the next day, before Gwen and Trent had to pick teams. I was hoping like crazy Gwen would pick me, because I considered her my best Total Drama friend, although possibly equal with Duncan. I had no problem with anyone else, really, except of course, Heather.

I spent the day hanging out with Duncan, actually. I figured Gwen wanted to make the most of being with Trent while they weren't competing, so I had to hang out with someone.

"Hope we're on the same team again." I commented. "If we're as good as we were last season, we'll both get to the merge. I've been dying to get another chance to kick your butt."

"Dream on, sister." Duncan laughed. "I'm going to win this season."

"You're the one dreaming." I told him, chuckling. "Hey, you wanna go steal some of Chef's honey and put it in Harold's pants?"

"Definitely!"

"And we need to find a permanent marker!" I added. "I want to use it on Heather when she's asleep!"

In the alien challenge, Heather's wig had fallen off and ended up going down the drain. For the rest of the season, she would have to deal with being visibly bald. Huh, she deserved it.

On the other hand, no one deserved to be woken up the next day before it got light, just for torture. We didn't get breakfast until it was light, so we were up and dressed for like, two hours before anything happened. I even heard Beth talking in the confessional about how bad Chris was. " _I was really hoping they'd replace Chris the Creep with a nicer host this time around. Is that mean? Sorry!"_

When it was finally time to get started on the challenge, most of us stood in a little group. Gwen stood a little way away on one side, with Trent on the other. Chris told us that today, we'd find out how tough on-set life could be, and it was time to pick the teams.

"We're gonna be choosing schoolyard style, boy, girl, boy, girl." Chris explained. "Ladies first. Since we have no ladies, Gwen."

Gwen heaved a sigh and said "I don't know...Duncan?" Trent gasped, looking horrified as my two closest friends on the show high-fived.

It was Trent's turn. "I choose the _beautiful_ Lindsay."

"Yay!" Lindsay cheered. Gwen's eyes narrowed. She knew why Trent said that, but it also seemed like she was saying that Trent had no reason to be jealous.

Things continued. "Because I like to keep things cool, I pick Leshawna." Gwen said.

"The girls are back in town!" Leshawna cheered. They high-fived, too.

Next, Trent chose Justin.

"Oh, pick all the good-looking contestants." Gwen snarked. "That'll get you far."

"It will in showbiz."

Gwen shrugged. "DJ."

Trent glanced around and then said "...Stephanie."

I held back a sigh and went to join the team. What? I hadn't even considered that Trent would pick me for his team! I'd kind of thought of it as a given that I'd be on Gwen's team. I mean, Duncan and Leshawna were on that team! I got along with everyone on there so far. Not that I hated Justin or Lindsay...but I barely knew Justin, and I just had to hope that Lindsay wouldn't act too dumb.

Gwen, too, looked thrown when Trent picked me. She'd probably been planning on it. She opened her mouth again to choose her next girl, when Leshawna whispered something to her.

I heard her answer. "Seriously? You don't mean-" Leshawna nodded as the team captain spoke. "Fine." Gwen sighed. "We choose Heather."

"Really?" the Hairless Queen exclaimed.

Trent looked between the two guys, and chose Owen. Gwen had to pick Harold, since he was the only guy left. That left Beth and Izzy, who both ended up on our team.

Chris had NO originality with names. Gwen's team was the Screaming Gaffers. My team was the Killer Grips (Weirdly enough, I was the only former Killer Bass on the team. One Bass in a sea of Gophers).

"Grips?" Beth repeated. "I don't wanna be a grip!"

"Please, it's not like being a gaffer is anything to brag about." Heather responded. "It sounds like something that has rabies."

Our challenge was to set up a film set, at the top of a hill. This meant taking up all these lights, props and sets, plus a makeup trailer. Gwen's team was neck and neck with us. As he ran, Trent muttered to this necklace Gwen had given him.

Izzy ran alongside, laughing. "Wow, I thought I was crazy! You're talking to jewellery?"

"You are crazy!" Trent said crossly. "I'm just trying to help our team win."

"Hey, that's what I'm trying to do, too! If you've got some lucky earrings, I'd be glad to have a little chat with them!"

Trent wasn't helping much, though, since he kept looking over at Gwen, often glaring whenever he caught sight of Duncan. Wow, he was jealous...and for the first time, I wondered what Courtney was thinking, if she was watching from the sidelines.

Now, I'd had a crush on Duncan, too. In fact, I still kind of did, especially since I was still going to be around him for the next six weeks. But I didn't feel anything much when I saw him and Gwen teasing each other or hanging out together. But Courtney wasn't much like me, and I couldn't help wondering if she was watching jealously.

Finally, we had to get the trailer up. It was the only thing left.

"I have a brilliant idea." Lindsay volunteered. "Let's get Tyler to do it!"

... _What?_

"He's not here any more!" all of us shouted.

"Seriously?" Lindsay began to look sad. "Bummer."

In the end, we told Owen that he'd get to eat once he pulled the trailer up. So he attached his belt to the trailer and started pulling it up.

"Hey, new best friends, how do you like that?" Trent called to his girlfriend and Duncan. "You gonna cry together, you punk wannabes?" They both looked annoyed, but it didn't change the fact that we were winning. Even when Owen's shorts started falling down because of the belt.

Beth was acting as team cheerleader. " _Owen, Owen, he's our guy_!" she chanted. " _If he can't do it..._ um...uh – _he's not our guy!_ "

Anyway, we won. Gwen's team wanted DJ to pull the trailer up, but for some reason, he'd refused.

It was time for the second part of the challenge – filming a scene. We had to pick an actor or actress, and record a scene. The other team had a scene with a thug who tried to go straight but couldn't do it (so they of course made the delinquent play him), while we were doing a scene with an old lady reminiscing about her life.

"Hey, what about lunch?" Heather demanded. "We have been working for eight hours and you are required by union rules to give us a lunch break!"

"Who here is in the union?" Chris asked, raising his own hand.

Nothing. "Yeah, I thought so."

"Awkward." I said, sticking out my tongue at Heather (don't get me wrong, I wanted a lunch break too, but getting one over on Heather was just too sweet to resist).

Next, we had to choose an actor. Izzy begged to be the old lady. "It's gotta be me! I have an old soul! I'm like eighty-three years old on the inside, cause I've been reincarnated like a whole bunch of times! Actually, I'm the reincarnation of my very own Granny Mavis!" She put on a Scottish accent as she spoke.

Soon, we were getting everything set up. Lindsay was doing Izzy's makeup carefully. "Your makeup, gorgeous! And now," she beamed, "I'm going to make you really feel like an old lady!"

"I feel like eighty years have already passed since they started adjusting the lighting!" Izzy complained.

"Don't move!" Beth warned from above as she adjusted.

"Oh, don't worry! I can't! My legs are totally asleep!"

"Can I get that last line again?" Owen asked, headphones on.

Izzy made a grab for the microphone. "MY LEGS ARE ASLEEP!"

I gave a sigh. "Beth, are you nearly done with the lighting? I need to mark exactly where Izzy's going to stand!"

"Give me a few seconds!" Beth answered.

I sidled up to Trent, who was simply watching (and glancing over every few seconds, especially when he heard Gwen making up for something Heather had said by telling Duncan he was not pretty, but he was hot).

"Not enjoying competing against your girlfriend, huh?" I said sympathetically. "But seriously, she and Duncan are just friends. Don't get too wound up."

"I know." Trent sighed. "But it's hard to see her hanging out with him, and I'm worried..."

"Relax." I told him. "I was on a team with Duncan for four weeks. Trust me, he's not interested in Gwen. If he's interested in someone, he will usually be a bit more of a flirt – besides, I happen to know about fifty percent of his thoughts revolve around Courtney. The other half is about playing pranks and winning challenges." I added with a grin.

We eventually got everything done, but Izzy continued complaining. It was more interesting to watch the other team. Heather got tangled in one of the cords of the lights, and started yelling. "I know you did this, Leshawna!"

Eventually, Harold offered to help her down (In the last two days at the Playa on my own, I'd gotten the chance to watch the special, and they'd eventually paired up. Heather did try to take the money for herself and leave him, but he followed her. Heather made this big speech about how she didn't like being mean and it wasn't that fun being the hated one, and then Harold still offered to split the money with her, albeit with him getting $600 grand of it, and she said they'd still be friends afterwards, but then shook her head at the camera). I would've left her hanging until the end of the challenge.

But whatever happened, it didn't help us win the challenge. Izzy was too unfocused of an actress. She was saying her lines, and then suddenly continued "Hey, I can flip my eyelids! Anyone wanna see me flip them?"

However, Duncan's performance, while having gotten the wrong script, made Chef start crying.

"Okay, cut!" Chris called out, tears in his eyes. "It's too much for Chef to take! Duncan clearly wins for best performance! The Screaming Gaffers win!"

And so, while the Gaffers celebrated, us Grips had to go to another Gilded Chris ceremony. It was obvious who was going.

I picked up my voting device and stabbed my finger at the fire-headed girl, as I glanced at the real Izzy. I didn't want to kick her off so early, but again, it was a _game._ Izzy's performance dragged the team down.

Chris tossed us each an award, one by one.

"And the loser is..." Chris paused. "Izzy! Time to go!"

We waited, but Izzy folded her arms stubbornly. "I'm not going anywhere. That's not my name."

Chris had to change the name on the votes to E-Scope before Izzy responded to being voted off. As the Lame-o-sine drove away, we heard her calling "This was just a dress rehearsal, my darlings! You'll see my star on the Walk of Fame, mark my words! MARK 'EM!"

It was a relief to go and hang out with just the girls that night. After elimination, I chilled outside until it turned from chilly to frozen, then I went back to the trailer. The minute I stepped through the door, though, Lindsay called out "Hey, Stephie, over here!" She and Beth were sitting on Lindsay's bunk (the top one), talking.

"My name's Stephanie, Lindsay." I reminded her patiently. True, I let Duncan call me Stephie, but he was the only one allowed.

"We're talking strategy." Beth explained, glancing down at the bracelets she was making as she spoke. "After the elimination today, we decided we _really_ need to step up our game."

I nodded. "Yeah, sure, but what are the plans? We don't know what kind of challenges are coming up next. We should brainstorm the genres Chris might have in store for us. Chick flicks, mysteries, documentaries..."

So that's how the day ended – me sitting on a bunk with my girl teammates, thinking up strategies for whatever genre was thrown at us next. Problem was, none of us had seen any movies in the next genre Chris decided to spring on us.

 **Too bad all the surfers were gone before the surf movie challenge, huh? Hope you liked this chapter!**


	35. Chapter 35

**Let's keep going! Thanks for reviewing, GIANTPANDAMAN.**

Our next challenge was the last one of the week, and it was a reward challenge. The next day, we would get any letters and/or care packages that had been sent to the lot (probably including the one Mom mentioned she'd sent to me).

I sat with my teammates again. Heather waved to Beth and Lindsay, but they both stayed away.

I was sitting next to Justin, stealing glances at him every so often, when the other girls rushed to his side.

"Justin, look, I brought you bacon!" Lindsay offered.

"I brought you facon. Tofu's good for your heart." Beth chipped in.

"Pig's good for his hair!" Lindsay argued.

"Holy crap, I love his hair!" Beth literally jumped up to hug Justin and his hair.

The model gently set her back down. "Ladies, please, I accept both your offerings. Join me for breakfast?"

The two girls both giggled and took the invitation, spending the next few minutes just staring at didn't even want food.

"Bubbleheads." I muttered under my breath. "Catch _me_ spending breakfast staring at some model."

"Did you say something, Stephanie?" I looked up when I heard Justin address me, and instantly, I was staring into his aquamarine eyes. Oh, they were so beautiful...

"Oh! Um...no...nothing." I stammered. I knew Justin was an egotistical pretty boy who had tried to steal the prize money off my team in the special last season, but he was just too gorgeous to resist!

Opposite us, Trent poured salt on his breakfast, only for the lid to come off.

At the other table, Duncan burst out laughing. "Sorry about the morning a-salt!" He laughed.

Gwen slapped him. "Third grade called, you're due back in class."

I giggled, although I felt a little disloyal to my team. " _Third_ grade? I could've sworn I heard them say first grade!"

Trent scowled. "Real mature. Don't you know it's bad luck to spill salt?" He tossed it over his shoulder, and it landed on Heather.

This time, Trent put pepper. Turned out that Duncan had left the lid loose on that, too. He also tossed some of it over his shoulder and it hit Heather again.

Duncan laughed. "You still gonna finish your eggs, bro?" He took a piece off Trent's plate.

Oh wow, the look on Trent's face! He flipped. "Are you _nuts_? Now I only have eight pieces left!"

That was only the start. Chris came in with a suspiciously similar surfboard (did Bridgette leave hers when she left?). "Hang on to your coconuts, players! We're going back to the beach! Ever seen one of those 1950s surfer movies where the kids get up to neato fun before the big bonfire twist-a-thon, and the bully kicks the sandcastle in the nerdy guy's face?"

Duncan spoke up. "Uh, no, Grandpa, we haven't."

"Well, get ready to recreate one, Junior!" Chris said brightly.

"Get ready to recreate something we know nothing about!" I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah, that _really_ tells us what we're doing today."

We all changed into our swimming costumes and went to...a freezing set.

"When did you guys move the beach to Antartica?" Lindsay shivered. We had to stand on a surfboard over a pool, and whoever stayed on there longest won.

There was a long pause on who was going first. Finally, I said, "Aw, screw it...I'll go." But the minute I was on there, Chris decided to mention that we had a couple of sharks in the pool. I didn't take long to fall off, and just as I came back, Beth was giving Trent a friendship bracelet. That's how I noticed it.

Before Trent put the bracelet on, he tapped it on his head nine times, counting. Okay...he just got weirder than he was at breakfast.

"Did you ever notice Trent's a little weird?" Beth muttered to Lindsay and I.

I nodded, while Lindsay squealed. "Did you say Tyler's here? That's amazing!"

"Okay, Linds," Beth said, "Tyler is not in the game any more."

"Oh, right! I must have a dental block about the whole thing!"

Everyone took a turn on the board. Harold went. Lindsay went. DJ went. Owen broke the surfboard, and we had to repair it.

Gwen took a turn, but this time, Chris shot seagulls at her. I'm serious.

Justin's turn. Beth called out to him. "Justin! Your face! Watch your beautiful face!" He got knocked down by the seagulls, but the sharks gave him CPR. No, really.

Duncan was the best. Chris even tried throwing Lindsay at him, and he stayed on the surfboard, winning for the Gaffers. I watched, feeling a bit jealous as he and Gwen fist-bumped, and then hugged. _I'd_ always been the one hanging out with Duncan on the island. It had been fine after the merge, when it was all three of us, but now...here I was, stuck on a team with people I barely knew, while my two closest friends got closer to each other than they were to me. And if I felt that way, I dreaded to imagine how _Courtney_ would react.

For the next challenge, the bus came for us, although we'd changed out of our swimsuits, believing it was another set.

Beth had made a friendship bracelet for everyone on the team, not just Trent. She gave a blue one to Lindsay, a green one to Owen, and a dark purple one for me. "It's the closest to black I had." she explained. I smiled at her and put it on. True, I didn't consider Beth a friend – not yet, anyway, but she was like a puppy, all wide-eyed and eager to please. I couldn't let her down. And maybe I could make an alliance with her later on, if I made friends with her first. Not fake friends – if I couldn't like her enough, I wouldn't ally with her, but we'd see.

Weirdly enough, she didn't give a friendship bracelet to Justin. Maybe she just felt inferior to him or something, but who knew.

Everyone sat with their teams on the bus, and because Beth and Lindsay paired up, as did Trent and Owen, I ended up sitting with Justin. We didn't talk, but whenever Justin caught me staring at him, he would dazzle me with his smile. Forget sparkly vampires – I'd rather look at Justin's eyes!

We were driven to the beach at TDI. Really! But our team had to sit around for half an hour while the Gaffers got a headstart on the sandcastle building competition.

Well, actually, Gwen and Duncan disappeared and I followed them. They were dismantling the bus engine.

"Hey, mind if I help?" I asked. The three of us laughed as we did it.

"I've always been more of a dismantler than a builder, anyway." Duncan said.

Gwen grinned. "No, you just love to stir up the-" The horn turned itself on. "Stuff! I was gonna say stuff!"

"Disconnect the horn next time, guys." I laughed. "Save a bunk in one of the cabins for me when I win this challenge!"

Finally, it was time for our team to start. "We need a plan." Trent said. "And I have one."

Can you guess what his plan was? _Nine of everything._ Oh yeah, I totally didn't see that coming. Eventually, our castle collapsed under the first eight flags, and it was Beth who saved us with Lindsay's magazines and her friendship bracelets. Hey, it still looked like a sandcastle, and that was what mattered.

We made it into paper mache, and kept everything up with Beth's bracelets. Finally, we were done. Trent named it. "I dub thee, 'Casa Gwen'." He still insisted on having nine of everything, even counting when he waved to Gwen.

Look, I was all for supportive boyfriends, but this was a team challenge, and Gwen's team had made what their geeky architect had called the "Taj Maharold".

In the end, we won, and we needed a tiebreaker. What was it? A dance-off in front of a bonfire.

"Can I do it?" I begged my team. "Please? I've been doing hip-hop since I was ten!" (Well, okay, I started in ninth grade...but I was in an advanced class with adults!)

As for the Gaffers, Leshawna got them to choose her. "My nickname back home – LaShakin' It!"

Chris turned on the music, and Leshawna faced me. "Prepare for a world of pain, girl!"

"Bring it on!" I replied. I began dancing, keeping an eye on Leshawna.

I nearly stopped dead in my tracks at what I saw!  
Okay, listen to me when I say this: if Leshawna ever shows up to the wildest dance club in town, it would be beneficial for their customers if the bouncers didn't let her in. Sure, she's cool, smart and has style, but dancing will never be one of her talents. I won that challenge easily, and we got the reward – a beach party! While the rest of us began the celebration, Trent slipped away to talk to Gwen in the forest, and I quickly stopped Owen from following them. "Let the lovebirds talk it out, big guy. I swear, you're worse than my dad and my little sister for not knowing when you're not wanted! Besides, if you follow them, you won't get first pick of the party food!"

The Gaffers actually had to watch us partying. And then, at one point, Beth got her wish. Justin went over to talk to her, and I overheard every word. "Thanks for winning us the sandcastle contest, especially after I blew the surfing challenge. You really saved my bacon, or should I say facon."

Beth could only gasp for air.

"Except," Justin continued. "I kind of noticed you gave everyone on the team friendship bracelets. Everyone except me. Aren't we friends, Beth?"

Of course, she gave him the last one she had. "Course! Here. It's kind of wet – my palm's a little sweaty." I couldn't help facepalming. Poor Beth – she was so awkward and clumsy.

Still, it was good that we did get back to the trailers when the bus was fixed. I wanted my letters for the next day!

 **We'll see her letters next chapter. And Trent's final failure. Poor dude.**


	36. Chapter 36

**Let's keep going! Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog, SuperKitty4789 and shameeralikhokhar. What elimination? There was no elimination.**

I had one letter from Tasha, and one from Lisa. Along with it was a package of some of my clothes for fall, since it was starting to get colder. I also got homework from school, but no one wants to hear about that.

I read Tasha's letter first.

 _Steph,_

 _We all miss you. Everyone at school watched Total Drama Island, and so everyone's talking about it. Of course, most of them don't have the proper channel and have to watch it, like, way after it's come out. They only just got to the part when Leshawna got eliminated._

 _As for us...well, we just got to watch the first episode of Total Drama Action! We're all thinking of you, and rooting for you. Movie genres, huh? I guess you're hoping for movie musicals. Maybe you'll get lucky and Chris'll do something like that. But seriously, good luck!_

 _The special was EPIC. Oh, and most of us are starting to hate Justin now. I don't know if taking his shirt off had the same effect on you as it did on us, but we were just as ashamed of ourselves for staring at him as you, Izzy and Eva were. Oh, and one more thing – Azure doesn't hate Courtney – in fact, she likes her more than she used to – but the rest of us do. She was full-on psychotic in the special. I mean, a bear was chasing four of the guys, and they had the money. So they ended up hanging onto the rope from the hot air balloon, and Courtney wouldn't pull them into the basket unless they gave her the money. And then DJ was like 'you wouldn't let us die' and she was like 'yes I would, I don't even like you'._ (I remembered that part. Yeah, that was seriously concerning). _I guess it's a good thing she's not on this season._

 _Stick it out, Steph! We want you to win!_

 _Love Tasha_

Lisa's one was heavier. I could see tearstains on the letter.

 _Stephanie, I miss you so much._

 _I know, I usually start with a better opening, but I really do. I thought I'd like having my own room and my own space, but it actually feels so lonely, being on my own at night. We're all ready for the new season, now that we know Owen won the last one. Dad's rooting for him to win all over again!_

 _Everyone else in our family is rooting for you, although Bart's hoping for Duncan to be in the final two again. I decided to be fair, I'd give my second root to Bridgette, and so did Maggie. Mom's more concerned about you, but I think she wants Leshawna to be in the final two, or DJ. Fair enough, I guess._

" _Action" starts tonight, and I'm just glad we'll be able to see you, although I keep wishing I was there. I want to be one of those kids on that show. You guys all seem such good friends...well, except Heather, but no one really likes Heather, right? Except maybe Harold, judging by the special. Since you're getting letters weekly, I'll next write when we've seen the first four episodes._

 _Stay safe, big sister._

 _Love Lisa_

I read these in the shade of the trailer. Although fall was coming, the next few days were way too hot. In fact, the heat caused Leshawna's hair to turn into a giant afro. Harold complained that his skills were leeching out of him. Justin made Owen fan him. Gwen started getting some kind of hayfever connected to heat. Of course, because of the heat, Chris decided now would be the best time to do a Western movie challenge.

"There's a town meeting in high noon!" he said in his best Texan accent. "Be there, or I'll drive ya deatbeats out of town!"

Lindsay raised her hand. "If you're driving us out of town, can we go to the mall?"

I gave a sigh. Lindsay was actually turning out to be okay without Heather around to tell her what to do, but she was hopeless as a teammate. Why did I have to have one teammate with Dad's brains and another with his appetite? What next – was Trent going to go one further and develop Dad's phenominal drinking non-limit? For the millionth time, I wished Gwen had picked me to be on her team before Trent had.

Chris went through the rules of Westerns, and then when he mentioned the brawl, Harold started improvising moves...until Duncan tripped him and he fell into the water trough. "Awesome reenactment, Harold!" he teased. "Usually it does end with the loser in the water trough."

Leshawna narrowed her eyes at Duncan. Yeah...in spite of not wanting to date him, they were still close.

Harold shook his wet head, and most of the water drops landed on a flexing Justin.

Next, it was time to jump on a horse. Meaning, jumping from a diving board. "Since the Gaffers lost last week, they go first."

Gwen sneezed. "Guys, I really think I'm coming down with something."

"Don't worry, we'll help you up the ladder." Duncan said teasingly.

"Guys, Gwen really is sick." Trent defended his girlfriend. "In her condition she'd probably fall right off the platform and land on that poor horse!" Then he realized what he'd said.

I nudged Trent. "Nice one, dude. At this stage, I wouldn't be surprised if she's considering dumping you. What with the counting to nine obsession and now this..."

"I can't help it!" Trent groaned. "I'm trying, but the harder I try, the more I screw up!"

Gwen's team was encouraging, although Duncan joked "We're gonna need a new team captain."

However, just as Trent predicted, Gwen fell off the platform and landed straight on the horse.

I offered to be the first Grip, and carefully jumped off the board, directing my gaze directly down. Okay, so I landed on the horse. Chris counted it. However, I wasn't aiming for the horse's neck. At least it survived.

Trent was hopeless, but Harold and Duncan landed fine. The horse actually jumped away from Owen, and then he chased the horse and mounted him.

DJ used a parachute and ended up flying right into the power lines. Justin got out of it, while Beth and Lindsay jumped together and landed the way I had.

Heather and Leshawna were last, pushing each other up the ladder, yelling insults at each other. Neither of them managed to get on the horse, though, so we won the first challenge.

Next, we had a fight. Team captains got to choose the strongest player to compete.

"The Grips pick..." Trent said, glancing around at our team. "Owen."

We all protested. Owen was too easy to hit, and way too soft himself. But Owen drank all the water for it, so Chris changed the challenge. We were cowboys, and had to rope the Gaffers. They wore udders on their head, we wore cowboy hats.

"Chris, can I get my own hat from the cabins?" I pleaded. I liked my black cowboy hat, but I'd only worn it once on the island. I'd felt a little self-conscious since Duncan teased me about it, that first week on the island, but it would be perfect for the challenge. But Chris, of course, said no – I had to wear the boring one provided. Oh well, it was sort of a replica of the one Lisa wore on summer holidays – traditional, but not ugly.

"Would the cattle care for some hay?" he teased.

"Would the host care for an udder sandwich?" Duncan shot back.

"I'm good."

At first, we were doing okay. Beth caught Heather, and Justin caught DJ. Now, if Trent had just roped Gwen when he had the chance, we would've won, but _noooo,_ he couldn't do it.

Owen and Lindsay were useless. In fact, Lindsay roped Trent. "Gotcha, cowboy!"

And then...the Gaffers found some rope and caught _us_! First, Gwen caught Lindsay. Then Leshawna and Duncan got Trent and Beth. Owen was already out.

Harold followed Justin, but the model protested. "Not the face, or the neck, hands, feet, legs, knees, or anything in the chestal region!" In the end, he just let Harold rope him. I gave a sigh, and Harold looked over. I ran for it, but the nerd was pretty quick for someone so non-athletic.

The Gaffers won the challenge. We had to go to another Gilded Chris ceremony, and I knew who I was going to vote off. Mr "One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine". Duh.

Finally, everyone went to bathe, but in a barrel, since it was Western-style. I dodged the line and sneaked to the girls' showers before getting dressed and heading for the confessional.

Duncan was already in there, and I heard him talking. "...it's not a bear. It's Courtney. Harold got Courtney booted last season. Yeah, payback's a bitch."

When he came out, I shrugged and said over my shoulder, "You know they're gonna cut out the last word you said."

Finally, my turn in the confessional. "I don't know what's _happened_ to Trent this season. Has being on a different team to Gwen really got him so messed up? I like Trent, really I do, but he's dragging our team down, big time. He's gotta go tonight."

Later that evening, when I was with the rest of my team sans Trent, Justin suddenly just attacked Gwen. "Tell me what I just heard you say to Trent!" he demanded.

Gwen gave a weak smile. "Sorry, I can't hear you." She sneezed. "Head cold."

"Fine, I'll do it then." Justin turned to the rest of us. "Trent's been purposely throwing our challenges for Gwen."

I rolled my eyes. "Like today's performance didn't already show us that."

But the rest of the team was shocked. "No way!"

"That's so unfair!"

"Gwen would never let Trent do that, ever! Right, Gwen?" This last comment came from Beth, and Gwen looked uncomfortable.

It was true, but Gwen insisted she wasn't in on it. I believed her, but Justin wanted to know why we should believe her. Then Gwen said six words that, back on the island, I would never have wanted to hear.

"Because I broke up with Trent."

We were all a little suspicious. But to ease Justin's suspicions, Gwen gave us full permission to vote Trent off.

"Great cherry cheesecake, she's bluffing!" Owen declared.

"We'll see about that." Justin said firmly. "Either way, you owe us, Gwen."

I followed him as he left. "Justin, was it really necessary to attack Gwen like that? I know Gwen, and I know when she's telling the truth. Gwen wouldn't lie for a stupid competition."

Justin turned to focus his full attention on me, and I had to try my hardest not to drown in those blue eyes. "It's called strategy, Stephanie." he said. "We all do it. I know you're friends with Gwen, but you're on _our_ team. Don't you want us to win?"

I couldn't argue with that, and I still voted for Trent that night.

Sure enough, the musician was voted off that night.

"What?" he gasped. "This has to be a mistake!"

"Trent, it's time to go!" Chris proclaimed.

"But I can't leave without saying goodbye to Gwen!" Trent protested. Chef had to carry him away. The last we heard of Trent that season was a heartbreaking cry of "Gwen!" And no doubt, Gwen had already broken his heart.

I did feel sorry for Trent, of course. But I knew that if Justin had anything more to do with it, things would only get worse for Gwen.

 **I hate those producers for breaking up Gwent! But sorry, guys, had to happen. I love Trent too, but...y'know, didn't work. Maybe we'll see him again one day. Hey, if Noah and Geoff can be on TV again, who says that Trent won't be back when the true Total Drama resumes? Along with people like Bridgette, Leshawna, Tyler...you know, those who could probably go further. Those three were robbed in World Tour, particularly the two girls. At least Tyler was voted off for clumsiness – those two could've gone far if their team was left alone!**

 **Finally, PLEASE vote on the poll on my profile. There are so far, only four votes, and I would like more opinions on what musical is scarier – the macabre Victorian legend, or the alien vampire.**


	37. Chapter 37

**And now...oh no. It's prison movie time, isn't it? Come on, when is it the horror movie challenge? Oh well, at least hospital's after this one. Thanks for reviewing, shahmeeralikhokhar, Ravenclaw Slytherin (the former house name is mine) and Gage the Hedgehog.**

We took a break for the next two days. None of us knew until our eliminations about the Aftermath show that Geoff and Bridgette were hosting, but later on we found out we had more breaks when that was airing.

The next morning, Chris woke us with a horn, but we were locked in. Lindsay struggled with the door. Gwen started panicking about her claustrophobia.

"Look up there!" I pointed to the roof. There was a tiny little vent that we could open and have someone get through.

We all looked at Heather. "What?"

Gwen smirked. "Of course, only the toothpickiest of us is going to fit through that vent. I'm talking model-thin. And surely the most athletic of us would want to show off her natural sleekness."

Heather fell for it. "For once, I agree with you. I'll do it."

But Chris let us out in the end. According to him, being locked in the trailers was a little warm up for...prison flick challenge day.

"Seriously?" I groaned. "So I have to assume that this challenge is like every prison flick? Meaning less interesting than my little sister's crusades?" (Lisa Simpson, queen of crusades for just about everything – vegetarianism, conservation, feminism...the list is too long). Everyone else groaned, too.

"Lovely." Heather said sarcastically. "At least we've got the only actual ex-con on our team."

Right. Remind me to put that on the list of disadvantages I got when Trent picked me to be on the Killer Grips.  
However, as Duncan admitted, it was only juvie, not prison. And the first challenge wasn't something Duncan would be able to do.

Chris led us into a dark set with two cells. First, we had to pick someone to lock up on the other team.

"It's in the bag." Justin whispered to our team. "Gwen owes us."

"But what if locking her up means she's out of the challenge, though?" Beth protested.

"That's a good point, Beth." I said, still not sure if I wanted the advantage that would hurt my friend in the process. "But then again, don't forget, Gwen's claustrophobic. If she's in the challenge, she'll be the one to freak out. Think about who's going to lose it first."

We chose Gwen (who gulped when Beth winked, reminding her that she owed us. They picked Lindsay, and then Chris told us what the challenge was.

We had the junk from the garbage to give to the other contestant, making it as disgusting as possible. Whoever barfed first lost.

"I...I can't!" Lindsay protested as Chef herded her into the cell. "I'm innocent, I tell you! Innocent!" But the other team had picked her. We were all worried too. Lindsay would be useless.

The reward for the winning team was a shovel. I guessed that it was something to do with digging ourselves out of prison. So we began turning the food for Gwen into something so disgusting, I almost hurled. Hair from Beth's hairbrush, Owen's dandruff...I even scraped some dirt that kept getting into my fingernails and put it in (don't judge me! These challenges weren't easy to keep clean in).

We seemed to be lucky, though. Lindsay took one bite and exclaimed "Wow, that is...delicious!"

I gagged. "Toenail clippings and horse lips, delicious? Lindsay, have you gone insane?"

But whatever happened, Lindsay barfed first. Gwen found Beth's retainer in her food, and Beth put it back in her mouth. Lindsay couldn't take it.

Next up was the elimination challenge. "Sorry, Gwen." I whispered as she passed. It would be that much harder for her to throw a challenge.

But there was another problem having come up. Heather was looking at Gwen suspiciously, and then she glanced at me, again with a suspicious look.

"Listen," I hissed to my team, "I think Heather might be onto us. We can't keep this up forever."

The challenge began with everyone except one person getting into the laundry cart, while the last person went through an obstacle course, pushing the cart. When they got to the wall, we would dig for freedom. Whoever got there last would go to elimination.

Gwen dissuaded DJ from doing the pushing,and offered to do it herself, winking at us.

"The girl is seriously sketchy." Heather remarked coldly. "I, for one, refuse to trust her."

"I trust anyone more than I trust you!" Leshawna retorted. "Now get up in that cart and shut it, Miss Sourpuss-Imma-vote-you-off-next."

"Seriously, Heather, shut it." Duncan added simply.

Yeah, we were really lucky that Heather was the only one on to Gwen. No one on her team believed her.

Owen claimed his trick knee was acting up, and Justin insisted we needed a girl to push so it looked even. He looked at each of us. But before he could say anything to the others, I said quickly "I'll do it! Lindsay's already been through enough today, and no offense, Beth, but you're kind of...small."

But no matter who had been pushing, I was going slower than Gwen, since Owen was so heavy. But finally, Beth yelled out "Wow, Gwen! You're going faster than _Trent_ ever could!" And Gwen skidded to a stop, letting us pass.

I was feeling uncomfortable about the cheating thing, but I didn't say a word. We got to the wall first.

We had to dig our way out with dessert spoons. Even worse, Justin wouldn't even help, and who was going to tell him off? Whenever I turned, intending to tell him to stop being lazy, he'd just look at me with those amazing eyes, and I'd completely forget to yell at him.

But even with Justin's laziness we got out first. We all started cheering, but then we heard another voice.

"We won! We won!"

A girl with new buck teeth and a crazy glint in her eye bounded up to us. "All right, Killer Grips! High-five!"

The rest of the team looked surprised, but I smiled and high-fived her. "Hey, Izzy."

Lindsay blinked. "We voted you off!"

Izzy shook her head. "You voted off Kalideoscope." So officially, _Izzy_ was still in the game, and we had an old team member back.

That evening, at dinner, Owen and Izzy stared at each other the whole time. "If people were food," Owen told her, "You'd be dessert. Chocolate-covered chocolate with chocolate sauce and sprinkles."

Izzy giggled. "That is so nice, Owen! You're banana split with, like, twenty-six bananas and a whole lot of split."

That evening, I called Gwen out to talk to me privately. "Are you going to be kicked off?" I asked anxiously. "I know we made you throw the challenge, but I've been worried about it all day."

Gwen gave a sigh. "I know. Heather says I'll be kicked off, but I don't know if anyone will listen to her. I know, I promised to vote myself off, but I still need two more people to make it a sure thing."

I gave my fellow goth girl a hug. "Well, if you are gone, I'm sorry about my team."

Gwen was voted off, of course. When the girls got back to the trailers, only Heather and Leshawna were there.

 **And so starts the downward slope of Gwen's decline in character. This was definitely not her season.**


	38. Chapter 38

**I can't help being a bit of a hypochondriac at times – like when I read I had a vague symptom that could mean cancer...but who cares? This is a good episode! Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog, Bloodylilcorpse and SuperKitty4789.**

Our next challenge began that evening, while Izzy was running around, reminding herself of everything in the camp. The trailer doors were locked.

Chris arrived with a ton of books. "I'm here to prep you lucky dogs for our most awesome challenge yet. These textbooks hold the sum total of eight years of med school, and each one of you gets one, cause tomorrow, we're gonna play doctor!"

I caught Duncan's eye and winked teasingly. Then I went to the confessional to explain. "Playing doctor, huh, Chris? Does he even realize how sketchy that sounds? Most games of doctor involve some lucky sucker stripping while everyone else touches them. Look, I like my team fine, but I'm not going to let any of them do that to me. Okay, so I might let Justin – but only above the waist. And speaking of which, if that's the case and it's one of the other girls stripping, I'm not touching this one. And that goes for Owen, too. It's a reward challenge – I wouldn't do that for a tiny little reward."

But what we had to do was stay up all night and memorize the textbooks, while eating pizza. And the pizza tasted great, so I was happy to eat it. I mean, yeah, I was suspicious at first, but everyone else loved it.

"Hey, Beth, do I squint when I read?" Justin asked.

Beth started blushing. "I don't know. Your shirt's distracting me. Unless you-" She cut herself off when he tossed his shirt aside, and then said "I'll just read the book to you, spare your beautiful eyes."

I gave a sigh and said sweetly, "Justin, should you be eating that pizza? Isn't it going to ruin your looks?" (Surprisingly, that actually came back in a later season, when another contestant refused to risk any food that might ruin his health).

Anyway, my ploy worked. Justin had already eaten two slices, but he looked worried and didn't take any more.

Leshawna was the only one who didn't eat any pizza. She had a dairy intolerance and didn't want to risk it.

I went back to the confessional after reading about half the book. "Okay, how am I supposed to memorize this stuff? Plus, I don't think any of the illnesses in this book are legit. Well, maybe ten percent, but no more! And since when were there hospital movies rather than TV shows, huh?" I gave a sigh. "Maybe I would have more fun playing doctor – if someone else was the patient and I didn't have to touch anything really weird."

While us Grips sat by the trailers, the Gaffers opted to go to the craft tent. But when I went back, Leshawna and Duncan were on their way back to the trailers.

"You guys finished the book already?" I called.

Leshawna shrugged. "I got sick of watching everyone else eat, and I figured that tomorrow's a reward challenge anyway. No one's getting kicked off, so there's no point in trying too hard."

I couldn't help grinning. "You know, you make a good point." I tossed my book aside. "'Night, Grips. Don't worry, I've memorized enough to answer questions."

It was a good thing I'd gotten some sleep. The rest of my team was lethargic from lack of sleep, but I was ready for anything. Duncan and Leshawna were just as energized as I was, unlike the rest of their team.

We all had to wear those headbands that doctors wore, even though our challenge really didn't need them.

All we had to do was answer medical questions, and when we got one right, we'd be dumped into a tank to find a piece of a giant synthetic body. We would assemble it, and then haul it up to the ceiling, where it would be electronically reanimated. Whoever got it done first won.

There was one thing that bothered me. The reward would be for only one team member.

"So if we win, who gets to be the one?" Duncan asked.

Heather folded her arms. "The person who most contributes to the win."

"Meaning someone other than you, Lazy McHairless." I teased. Heather shot a death glare at me.

Chris didn't tell us what the reward was. So we started answering questions. And as I'd predicted, even I had enough knowledge to answer a few questions, which got us ahead. But not enough.

Our team was weaker than their team, so when we were neck and neck, hauling the things, up, up...

"Oh, this is so exciting, I can't take it!" Izzy exclaimed. She chomped on Owen's arm, and then suddenly exclaimed "Eew, what's this icky sore?" She felt his forehead. "Owen, you're burning up, just like my passionate soul."

My lips tingled, and I brushed my hand against them. They began feeling really itchy.

Owen burped, and Izzy passed out. Owen stuck his tongue out. "Ooh, lemony."  
"Hold on." frowned Justin. "Red sores, fever, lemony burps? Aren't those symptoms from one of the diseases in the book?"

I didn't remember it, but everyone else did. Owen, according to them, had a fatal disease, which was also contagious. Owen had to be put into a plastic quarantine bubble, and Chris locked us into the set.

We all thought the fatal disease out of nowhere was weird. But we had more important things on our hands, like making sure no one else was infected. Heather gave a little scream. "I see another sore – on DJ!"

We got him in a bubble, too.

"We need to confirm no one else is infected." Harold spoke up. He started listing the symptoms. "Explosive diorrhea..."

Lindsay locked herself in the Port-A-Loo on set.

"Itchy lips..."

I rubbed at mine, while Justin started stratching his own rapidly.

"Sudden hot flushes.."

Beth was suddenly in a pool of sweat, bright red and fanning herself.

"Seasickness..."

Heather went green and looked around frantically for a bucket before finding one and blowing chunks.

"Speaking in tongues..."

Izzy began babbling incoherently.

"And temporary blindness." Harold finished. He looked around. "Anyone? Well, that's a relief." But then he cried out and his eyes went blank. "I'm blind!"

I continued rubbing my lips, but they kept itching insistently. But judging by Justin's puffy lips and insistent stratching, my lips weren't so badly affected.

Duncan and Leshawna, on the other hand, seemed fine. The three of us got everyone on stretchers. Actually, Leshawna suggested I lie on one, too, since I had the illness, but I refused.

Duncan, still wanting to pull a prank, tried to use a rectal thermometer on Harold in the wrong place.

I started to giggle, but then hissed to Duncan "You're gonna annoy his nearly-girlfriend."

Right on cue, Leshawna pushed both of us out of the way. "Both of you, stop!" She tilted Harold's head up and put a cup to his lips. "Here, baby, have a sip of water." Which his body immediately rejected.

I actually made a confessional about that before the challenge was over. "Leshawna thinks she and Harold aren't meant for each other? So that means she defends him all the time, she's okay with calling him pet names, and always looks to him for support? Yeah, she _really_ isn't into him."

Back on set, though, there were more pressing matters at hand. "There was definitely something weird about those textbooks." I commented. "I don't remember that disease, but why would everyone get it with no warning, apart from you two? I mean, I didn't stay up all night either, but I've got one of the symptoms."

"We need to get our hands on one of those textbooks. There's gotta be something these guys missed." Leshawna decided. "Stephanie, can you take care of everyone else while we check it out?"

I shrugged. "My lips are totally killing me, but I'm in good enough shape to look after everyone." So while Duncan and Leshawna used the platform our cadavers had been on to get to a skylight to leave the set, I took care of the ill as best I could.

"Harold?" I said. "Seeing any better?"

"No." Harold answered weakly. "What's happening?"

"Leshawna and Duncan left to find out what's happened. I'm the sucker left to take care of you guys." I rolled my eyes. "Not sure why Gaffers get to be researchers and Grips are nurses, but I'm the only one who can do this."

Lindsay didn't come out of the Port-A-Loo for the next ten minutes. Beth asked Justin if maybe she could kiss his itchy lips before her death. Owen and DJ were getting claustrophobic. Between throwing up, Heather began writing her will.

"To my mother," she said out loud. "I leave you all of my many awards and trophies. To my brothers and sisters-" She broke off for a second. "I leave you... _nothing._ Earn it yourselves, you lazy slackers!"

I couldn't help giggling. "At least one of us is getting better!" I announced. "Heather isn't feeling sick enough to forget to be mean."

Heather shot one of her death glares at me as she threw up again. "I'll show you mean!" she hissed furiously.

"That is if you survive." I teased. "Or if I survive. Then again, I'm not convinced this is legit."

And as Duncan and Leshawna discovered, it wasn't. According to them, the medical books didn't have a scrap of real information in them.

The sores on DJ and Owen were pepperoni. Mine and Justin's lips, and Lindsay's diorrhea were because of itching powder and laxitives in the pizza (Duncan had to lock himself in there next). Leshawna was fine, because she didn't eat any of the pizza.

"But what about the other symptoms?" Beth asked. "Blindness, speaking in tongues..."

Izzy was able to explain, having stopped speaking in tongues herself. "Oh my gosh, first year med school syndrome! Too much studying and too little sleep can make you think you've got every disease in the book!"

Soon, Heather stopped feeling sick, Beth's temperature went back to normal,and Harold could see again. And because Duncan and Leshawna had won, the Gaffers had won the reward – one person would get a spa night with someone they loved. Chris had a picture of everyone they could spend time with.

"Chris, to torture us, shouldn't you show the rest of us who we'd spend time with?" I asked, curious.

Chris laughed. "Nice, Stephanie. We got your little brother to fly over in case your team won and you got the reward, but he's on the next plane home right now."

Meanwhile, the Gaffers were looking at the choices. "That's my momma!" DJ exclaimed.

"And that's my best cousin!" Leshawna added.

Everyone wanted the reward, of course. Suddenly, Leshawna burst into tears. "I'm sorry, it's just – it's all so stressful...I thought I was gonna lose you...fighting for your lives...it's just all been too much..."

Everyone on the team all agreed to let Leshawna take the reward, even Heather. She left, still in tears.

 **Right. So we all knew that Leshawna was faking...but they didn't! Let's see what happens next.**


	39. Chapter 39

**Challenge time...again! Well no. I lied. It's the end of the second week, and letters are coming! Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog, GirlPower54, Johnathen (sorry, I'm only doing the first three seasons) and Bloody-Asphode11 (well, I didn't know, and besides, he didn't just go home – one of Lisa's letters will explain what he did while he was in Canada).**

I actually had a better time than I expected, with Leshawna away for the night. Although Lindsay and Beth clearly preferred each other's company to mine, they included me in all their "girl time" sessions and we spent all evening talking. It was like one big sleepover, especially since we knew we had a break and letters were coming the next day. If it wasn't for Heather glowering at us all night, things would've been perfect. Beth and Lindsay were really starting to grow on me. Beth was so nice and friendly, and a lot smarter than she acted, while Lindsay may have been dumb, but she had one of the kindest hearts of any idiot (including Dad, even at his best).

I only had one letter, this time. It was from Lisa, and surprisingly short.

 _Steph,_

 _We got the Western episode a few nights ago. It says the next show coming up is an...Aftermath? Apparently, Geoff and Bridgette are co-hosts and will be talking to Izzy and Trent. And speaking of Trent – the poor guy! I don't know what happened to him this season. If Gwen's still there, tell her that I understand why she dumped him, but that he needed her support and she shouldn't have done it._

 _Also, I should warn you. Justin is trouble. He says that this time, he's in it to win it, and that's why he keeps trying to get Beth to do everything for him. Don't fall for his looks, please! I know he's gorgeous, but be careful!_

 _Gotta go now. I haven't finished my homework, and I know you've got some to do between challenges._

 _Lots of love and good luck,  
Lisa_

Leshawna, who had arrived back, had no letters, but she was happy. She told me all about how she got to hang out with Leshaniqua, her favourite cousin, and what a great time they had at the spa. I was happy for her, but crazy jealous, too. I must've looked like a nightmare with no makeup, greasy hair and my roots showing clearly.

We thought we might have an extra break when we spent a whole morning and half the afternoon playing soccer (me and a couple of the guys) and cards (everyone else).

Everyone was scoffing the sandwiches from lunch. For some reason, they tasted better than anything Chef had ever made before. Beth had taken most of them herself, but everyone kept taking them.

Beth and Lindsay were already making plans to hang out and braid each other's hair. "That would be so fun, right, Steph?" Lindsay said. She was starting to get my name right, finally, but I frowned.

"Braiding hair? Um, you two go ahead. I'm going to..um...cut off half my hair so Heather has a wig?" That made the three of us laugh.

Heather glared at us, saying "Some of us are trying to keep up our strength to actually win the competition."

"We don't think there is one today." Lindsay told her.  
"There better be. I am here to win a million dollars and the sooner I eliminate you pathetic spineless followers, the better."

I glared ."Who are you calling a spineless follower?"

Heather tossed a sweet smile over her shoulder. "Oh, I wasn't referring to you, Stephanie. You're not a spineless follower. You're a copycat outcast. I mean, even though I can't stand Gwen, at least her goth look was something she made up."

I couldn't help being furious at that. If she was saying I copied Gwen...well, no way. I didn't look like Gwen at all! I only wore red and black, not blue, green and black like Gwen. Nor did I ever wear skirts or thigh-high boots (although I did want boots like Gwen's).

But there was a challenge. Chris called us to one of the studios, even though he didn't show up. Then, he was falling from the top of the building, impaled on a set light.

We all started screaming, and Justin said "Guess the producers don't like paying overtime."

"I'm worth every dime." Chris was suddenly alive again. He explained that the impaling thing was all special effects, and that he had a packet of fake blood attached to him. And fake blood could only mean one thing!

"Are we doing horror movies today?" I asked eagerly.

Chris grinned. "Right you are, Stephanie!"

Lindsay looked at Beth. "I can't believe how unscarable you are! You didn't even scream!"

"I did on the inside." Beth told her "I just can't do it on the outside." She explained that when she was ten and getting her tonsils taken out, her doctor's earring fell in her throat and her screams only came out as a gasp.

First, to decide which team got which challenge, it was time for a scream-off. We had to pick our scariest teammate to make us scream. Whoever gave the loudest screams out of their team, they got the better challenge.

Justin wanted to be the killer, but Izzy argued. "I am such the better scarer! My own dog is terrified of me!"

"But you're cute as a bug in a rug!" Owen said, giving her googly eyes. Lindsay tried to say something, but I talked over her.

"Izzy, I'd agree with you, but Owen refuses to be scared of you, so I think I should do it." I argued. "I'm scarier."

But Justin and Izzy continued to argue.

"Look at my scary face!" Izzy demonstrated.

"That's not scary, that's adorable!" Owen exclaimed. Izzy gave him a disturbing glare. "This is a scary face."

Suddenly, Lindsay spoke up, her voice suddenly stern and bossy. "Beth is going to be our serial killer, and that's final!" Everyone else was shocked into silence.

But not me. "Beth may not be able to scream, but she's not scary, either." I argued. "I'm scary, Izzy's scary. You, Justin and Owen aren't scary, either. You have to pick one of us, and since I'm the only one who's standing up to you, I think I should do it. One scream can be sacrificed in honour of bigger screams."

I won that argument, but Lindsay was clearly annoyed with me.

Everyone had to do a different scene. Justin would be walking in the woods, Lindsay would be in one of the Port-A-Loos, Beth would be in a dark alleyway, and Owen and Izzy would be in a living room, making out.

Luckily, I made Justin scream louder than he meant to, because the minute he screamed, he gasped out "Stephanie! You made me strain my vocal chords! What if my voice never recovers?"

"Sorr-ee." I gave a sigh, making sure not to look into his eyes. "Your voice already recovered."

Lindsay screamed much louder than anyone else on set ever could have. I must've really scared her, because she actually got some use out of the toilet she was sitting on.

I didn't bother to try to scare Beth, but the make-or-break of the whole challenge was Izzy and Owen. Unfortunately, they were too busy making out to get too scared.

However, the good news was that I'd already won. The Gaffers' killer was DJ, and the only person to get scared was Heather – and that was because she had to kiss Duncan. I don't know why – he was the best kisser I knew of.

When DJ terrorized Harold, he did scream, but he wasn't quite as scared as Justin was. Leshawna couldn't beat Lindsay's scream of true terror...and then, shame. While Heather's scream of disgust beat Owen and Izzy's courtesy scream, I'd already won the last two rounds, so we had the win.

But then, while Duncan and Heather finished their scene, Chef came up as the psycho killer and freaked both of them out, as well as DJ, who fainted.

So before we started the rest of the challenge, we had to wake up DJ.

"Is he okay?" Beth asked, looking concerned.

"I think he's saying something." Leshawna said quietly.

Sure enough, DJ began saying something. "..Momma?"

I frowned. "Is he hallucinating, or just dreaming?"

After we pulled him back up to the couch, Heather slapped him in the face. That woke DJ up, but the first words out of his mouth were "I need to see Chef."

Heather slapped him again. At Leshawna's protest, she said "What? He's still talking crazy."

But Chris was anxious to start the next part of the challenge. As the losers, the Gaffers had to sleep in the craft service tent.

But while our team was sitting around a campfire, Chris told us what to do. We had to scare the Gaffers out of the tent before dawn.

"Oh," he added, "Just so you know, I told them some cockamaime story about a security guard who died on set." Then he walked off, looking pleased with himself.

"Okay," I said to my team, taking charge, "Let's think about what scares the Gaffers. Leshawna's scared of spiders, DJ's scared of snakes, Harold is scared of, but admires, ninjas, Heather's scared of sumo wrestlers, and Duncan's scared of Celine Dion standees." I paused. "Speaking of Duncan, this is going to be hard. He knows horror movies."

The minute I'd finished speaking, Lindsay spoke up, again sounding bossy. "Listen up, Grips! There's one way to get them out of the tent, and I have an idea!"

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Linds, with respect, can you shut up? I'm the one who watches horror movies. You were the one who freaked out in the last challenge. Give me this one!"

"No!" Lindsay argued. "I'm sick of everyone bossing me around. I could lead this team just as well as anyone, and you haven't even listened to my idea yet!"

Okay, to Lindsay's credit, she worked out a way to scare Heather and Duncan enough to get them out. "Let's dress Owen up as a security guard and have him sing Celine Dion songs while flexing like a sumo wrestler!" she suggested.

I folded my arms. "Good...but what about ninjas?"

"I know! I know!" Izzy called out. "You've got black clothes, right, Steph? You and I go in and scare Harold out as ninjas in all black."

I frowned. "Okay...but does he have his numchucks with him? If he does, that might be a problem."

"I'm pretty sure he keeps them beside his bed in the trailer." Justin offered. "I'll go check they're still there." He spent ages in the trailer (probably spotting some tiny imperfection he had to spend an hour perfecting), but he resported that they were there, and gave them to me.

Lindsay paused. "We're missing Leshawna and DJ, right?" she said. "Any ideas, people?"

There was a pause.

"Come on!" Lindsay said impatiently. "I'm doing all the work here, team!"

"Thanks, Lindsay." I snarked. "I'm pretty sure Izzy was the one with the ninja ideas." I paused, and said..."Okay, while we have Owen appear as an apparition of the security guard/sumo wrestler/Celine Dion wannabe and me and Izzy appear as ninjas, you three others pour tomato sauce on the wall from the kitchen. They'll think it's blood, and I know that'll scare DJ enough. You guys know how much he hates scary movies."

As a matter of fact, our plan actually didn't go too badly. DJ went screaming out of the tent the minute the walls started bleeding, before Duncan could tell him the "blood" had the wrong consistency (dammit!). But Harold just clung to Leshawna when Izzy and I went for him. Eventually, they were both sent running out of the tent.

But Duncan and Heather stood their ground. Well, Heather was inching towards the door and eventually made a run for it, but Duncan didn't budge.

"Lame special effects." he said coolly. "I know it's you, Owen."

Owen stopped his (actually not too bad) singing and gave a sigh. "All right. You got me."

But we were determined to get the whole team out of the tent before the night was through, and Lindsay, again, told everyone what to do.

"Stephanie," she said, "You're the one who knows Duncan the best. What else is he afraid of?"

I thought about it. Finally, I said "Appearing soft. Okay, what about this. Let's parody _I Know What You Did Last Summer._ Duncan made a ton of 'nice guy' moves that most people don't know about, but I know all of them."

I gave them some top-secret information that only Courtney and I had known prior. DJ's Bunny II, the fact that he kept a photo of Courtney under his pillow and most of all...the gentle way he'd kissed me.

"You guys were dating while he was with Courtney?" Beth asked, round-eyed. "Seriously? Isn't that, like...cheating?"

I shrugged. "Whatever. If it had worked out, he would've broken up with Courtney in the kindest way possible. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. And none of you five are going to tell her, understand?" I said menacingly.

Izzy was the only one who didn't look scared when I said that, but all five of my teammates nodded.

It took us until about an hour before sunrise, but Duncan was eventually just about scared out of the tent by our _We Know What You Did Last Summer And We're Gonna Tell Everyone_ tactics.

But when the Gaffers returned the next day from the Gilded Chris ceremony, they told us what had happened.

"DJ quit before we voted. He had made an illegal alliance with Chef, and decided to leave because of it."

I never would have expected sweet, kind-hearted DJ to be in an illegal alliance. But I did suspect that Chef had just bullied him into it. I wasn't going to hold it against DJ, and I would miss him.

 **To be honest, I'm glad to get rid of DJ finally. This plotline was not fun. Now I can get onto the Leader Lindsay plot. A couple more episodes, and we'll meet Admiral Lindsay Her Hotness.**


	40. Chapter 40

**So, disaster movies. Aw, memories of the Universal Studios Tour in LA. Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog.**

We had a break the next day. I kept back from Duncan about what I'd told the rest of my team (and they had sworn not to say anything), but I did tell him that the whole _I Know What You Did_ stunt was my idea.

"I knew you wouldn't be scared by anything in a horror movie," I grinned, "So I figured that I had to be a little more creative." I frowned. "Although Lindsay was being annoying. She had some good ideas, but for some reason she was getting really bossy and telling everyone what to do. I had to argue a bit with her before she let me be the killer."

"Props, Stephie." Duncan said, although his face remained deadpan. Then he grinned. "But I could've scared you way quicker!"

"No way!" I said. "I may have told you my life story, but if I can willingly go into a room with a creepy living ventriloquist dummy and not find it weird that I have a dead girl in my head, you couldn't get me freaked out if you tried harder than physically possible!"

As well as talking, we planned a few more pranks to play on Harold when we weren't doing challenges, and I also had a major argument with Heather that night, when she borrowed my foundation without asking and used most of it up. She got really mad when I told her it made her look like Casper the Friendly Ghost. "You're just as white and pale and as _bald_ as he is!"

After I told Duncan about Roxy, actually, I wondered if I could call her up again. Last time I'd called dead-girl Roxanne with a problem on my hands, she'd come back in my dreams and tried to help. But I hadn't spoken to her since I was fourteen.

Well, that night, she visited me again.

" _Hey, Steph." Roxanne said tentatively. Last time we talked, I'd yelled at her. "You called me?"_

" _I just wanted to talk." I told her. "Have you been watching?"_

 _Roxy gave a nod. "It's not easy to avoid Total Drama." she admitted. "I used to love reality shows, even though I would never ever go on one. Total Drama Island was on cable, and I caught a glimpse of it when I was watching my parents, and my mom was surfing channels." Her face fell, and she gave a sigh. "I wish I could tell my parents that I'm okay."_

 _I gave her a look. "Get on with it."_

" _Oh, right." Roxy smiled quickly. "So when I heard of Total Drama, I decided to watch the island for a little while. I got to know a lot about everyone there – okay, I only got to see it after Katie left, but I found out a ton about everyone else. There was a lot behind the scenes, and to be honest, I was pretty surprised to see you there." She paused. "But I knew instantly that you were Gwen's double. Although I didn't expect you and Duncan to get so close."_

" _Who did you root for?" I asked._

" _You, obviously." Roxanne said._

" _If you didn't, you don't have to lie to me."_

" _No, really! If I had to choose someone else, probably Bridgette. Or Gwen. Pretty much the only person I didn't want in the finale was Heather." Roxy shuddered. "She's scary."_

 _I shrugged. "I hate her too. But she's easy to handle. Get on her case about her baldness and she'll shut up."_

 _Roxy giggled. "By the way, you know that girl who was making fanblogs about everyone and vlogging about each episode?"_

 _I frowned. "That uber-fangirl with the purple hair? What about her?"_

" _She's made about a million audition tapes." Roxy told me. "I kept an eye on her after you found her online, because she sounded interesting. The producers haven't accepted her yet, but she's still trying. She doesn't like this season as much as last season, though. She's put a campaign on her main page about bringing Cody back."_

 _I burst out laughing. "Of all the people who could come back, Cody? I'd rather have Evezilla or Noah-it-all. At least they're fun to hang out with."_

 _Roxy gave one sly smile. "One more thing, Steph."_

" _Yeah?"_

" _Don't count Beth out as a weakling or a loser just yet. There's a lot more to her than you think."_

I didn't expect anything to come of that comment. It had really confused me. But that morning after that dream had a surprise revelation in store. We were all trying to eat Chef's grey slop that he'd served (now that DJ was gone, the food just went down in quality) without much success, when Beth said something interesting. "I wish my boyfriend was here! He's _such_ a great cook."

"Boyfriend?" Heather repeated. "I don't remember any talk of a boyfriend."

"Oh yeah, I have a boyfriend." Beth said. "I love my boyfriend. What? Didn't I mention my boyfriend before?"

Yeah, none of us bought this. Beth said her boyfriend's name was Brady, and she did bring out a picture of a guy, but it was a picture from a modelling agency with the guy's description on the back, as Justin figured out. Beth insisted that her boyfriend _was_ a model, and that they met in between shows, when they were both getting their braces off. But as I was on good terms with Beth, I didn't encourage or deny her little fantasy. After all, she'd grow out of it, even if it took her a little longer than it took most girls.

I remembered what Roxy had said – there was a lot more to Beth than met the eye. But I had assumed that she was a stronger competitor than she appeared. I'd seen flashes of this in her boldness in the alien challenge, and her creative paper-mache/friendship bracelet idea in the beach challenge. Yeah, that was what Roxy meant. Beth's boyfriend story couldn't be real – it was way too far-fetched.

Leshawna pointed out what we'd all been thinking. "You've been chasing after a boy all this time with a honey back home?" Chalk up another point against Beth's story.

"Sure my boyfriend's a model, but he's still just a guy." Beth shrugged it off. "Justin is a _supermodel._ I can't help myself! Now that my braces are off, it's a whole new dating world!"

Justin looked pretty scared at that, and I glared at him. "Stop acting like dating Beth wouldn't be fun. Any guy would be lucky to have her." Okay, a bit of a stretch...but so what if Beth wasn't pretty? She was sweet and friendly.

After that, Harold grabbed all the straws on his table, and the rest of us fell to talking about the previous subject – the horrible food.

Of course, once Chef came in, we started talking about how "great" the food was. We knew how Chef was going to react – he knew we hated his food – but he was more vicious with people who straight out said bad stuff about it.

"I give it five stars!" Owen piped up. Then again, he probably did like it.

"I hate suck-ups." Chef muttered, then walked off.

"Not to worry, folks, you won't be holding on to your lunch for much longer!" Chris came in. Oh, good, he planned another torture fest.

"It's breakfast." I corrected. "What kind of challenge did you plan for today?"

"Oh, nothing." Chris said. "Just that your day will be total distaster. It's a disaster movie theme! You know, like a disaster flick?"

I gave a sigh. Oh well, at least it would be a true reality TV challenge. An obstacle course.

Well, okay, the course was not too hard for some people. Even with Chef throwing stuff at us and the course shaking, I managed to crawl above the monkey bars and swing below, depending on where Chef was aiming.

The lava was easy enough to avoid, but the golf balls were painful.

"No!" Justin wailed. "Not the face!"

The Gaffers were in the lead. But then, as the golf balls began being shot at us, Owen called out "Everyone, get behind me!" He took a few shots, and we began to catch up. Chef continued to throw things. As I scrambled over the wall, Izzy and Owen started a little argument over who went next (or second to last). But then, Owen was up...just as Chef's book hit him right in the jaw.

"Oh no, Owen!" cried Izzy. "Are you okay?"

Owen had broken his jaw. Until it was mended, he was going to have to eat everything as a blended mix through a straw.

"Omigosh, Owen!" I rushed over to him. "You'll be okay, right? If anything else like this happens, I am _so_ gonna push you to sue."

Chris scowled when I said that, muttering something about having enough law suits. Well, what did he expect when his challenges were more over-the-top than anything on reality TV before?

Eventually, Owen was taken to hospital to have his jaws wired shut, and we won due to a handicap, which meant we had the advantage in the next challenge – a piece of paper with a code in Roman numbers written on it.

Each team was sitting in an inflatable boat, ready to go into a safe. Once we were in, a red light started flashing, and a siren went off.

"What's going on?" wondered Justin.

"Who cares?" Beth wrapped her arms around him. "I could stay like this all day." Justin edged away.

Chris' voice blared through an intercom. "For this challenge, you've gotta get out before it's too late!"

And that's when the water began to spill into the safe.

"I wish my boyfriend was here!" Beth said. "He's a registered lifeguard!"

"Oh yeah, it would be great if he was here." Izzy replied. "You're right. You know what would be better?"

"What?"

"If he existed in the first place! Now let's get out of this death trap!"

"Stop it, Izzy!" I snapped. "The water isn't even up to our ankles now, but that won't be true for long. Those roman numbers...I'll bet that all we need to do is put them into a lock where the exit is, and we'll be free. Who had the paper, and where's the lock?"

There was one in the middle of the floor. Beth crouched down to inspect it. "It's a combination lock, all right!"

Izzy found the paper in one of Lindsay's pockets. Lindsay herself just said "How are we ever going to open it?"

"What are the numbers, Izzy?" I asked.

But everyone started arguing over it, and by the time Justin got involved, the paper was dropped into the water, and when Izzy and I picked it up, it was too blurry to read.

"So, come on." Justin prompted. "What are the numbers? Read them out."

Izzy threw the paper down. Both of us spoke at the same time. "I'm surrounded by loons!"

There was a hatch on the ceiling, but it was impossible to get to, because when we opened it, we met a shark, mouth first. Beth started talking about how her boyfriend taught her how to hold her breath for ages because he could do it for underwater photo shoots.

"My agent wants me to learn that." Justin commented.

"Brady could teach you!" Beth offered. "Then I'd have you both to myself!"

By this time, we were all halfway to drowning. But you know who rescued us? Harold. Well, the Gaffers won, but when he opened one of the hatches underwater (using the straws he'd taken as a snorkel), the water drained out of both safes, and Chris let us out. But we'd lost again.

Oh, and also, we found out something very interesting – from Heather, of all people! Leshawna had _fake cried_ to get the spa day reward in the hospital challenge. Me, I didn't care so much. A Gaffer had to get the reward, and she and Duncan did all the work. One of them deserved it. But Heather and the other Gaffers were pretty pissed.

But Leshawna was still my friend. I wasn't angry. I did confront her about it, but it went more like this: "Hey, heard you fake cried for the spa night. Props, girl. But let's be honest, you deserved it."

Of course, that wasn't the last we'd hear of the spa night. But at that moment, I wasn't stressed about it.

 **Yeah, we'll get to the trash talking later...**


	41. Chapter 41

**Ugh. War movie? One of the most boring episodes right here. Can we just bring Courtney in already? And I can't skip this one. On the bright side, I decided to make a change. Thanks for reviewing, Gage The Hedgehog.**

Owen came back, of course, his jaws wired shut. From then on, he'd be having trouble with eating, but he promised not to sue.

The Gaffers were still pretty mad at Leshawna. Even Harold referred to her as "my valued and somewhat untrustworthy teammate".

On the break, I decided to hang out with my teammates for once. Beth had become more boring, mentioning her boyfriend every five minutes. Izzy just laughed at her. I mostly hung out with Lindsay and Beth, playing stupid games to pass the time and making friends with them – though I had to draw the line when Lindsay said I should have a new look and offered to give me a "skater girl" makeover.

But that evening, it all fell apart. Chris called us all to the theatre – and laughed when he saw us looking nervous. "Don't worry, I'm not eliminating anyone. Yet. But I want to rectify a little unfairness I've been noticing in the game lately, which is no fault of the players."

The rest of us exchanged glances.

"You see," Chris continued, "When we split the teams, for some reason, the Killer Grips got an extra contestant. Right now, there are six Grips and four Gaffers. And that's unfair. And the only way to change this is to move one of the Grips over to the Gaffers' side!"

The six of us all exchanged glances. Which Grip, though? Beth and Lindsay grasped each other's hands, putting their other hands on Justin, and Izzy clung to Owen.

"Wonderful to see all of the team spirit!" Chris said brightly. "Looks like the choice is going to be obvious. Screaming Gaffers, say hello to your new teammate – Stephanie!"

I pretended to be sad, gave a thumbs up to my old team, and went to join the Gaffers for the rest of the team competition.

To be honest, I was super psyched to be a Gaffer. It was great to be back on the same team as Duncan. And despite the whole spa night thing...well, Leshawna would be great to hang with. And I knew from last season that Harold could strike the final blow in a win, since he won the first two Killer Bass challenges. Of course, being a Gaffer also meant I had to deal with Heather 24-7, not just during the time I spent in the trailer, but I could handle her. That night, I took particular pleasure in brushing out my long dark hair in front of her.

"Don't you have any hair dye, Steph?" Lindsay asked, also brushing her hair. "Your roots are showing a lot."

"Is it horrible?" I asked anxiously.

"I guess it kind of looks natural." Lindsay said, after some thought. "You can borrow one of my bandannas, if you want." Then she paused, and said "I mean, if we were still on the same team, you could, but-"

I cut her off. "Chill. Just because I'm not a Grip any more doesn't mean I have to act like I hate you, Linds." I turned to the other Grips. "Izzy, Beth, do you guys hate me?"

Beth gave it some serious thoughs, and said "You _were_ a little mean sometimes...but I don't hate anyone. You were nice most of the time."

Izzy cackled and somersaulted her way over to me. "How could I ever hate you, Steph? You and me, we're like this." She crossed her fingers. "Twisted and true friends!" She cackled again.

But then, it came to the next day. Challenges were back on, and those three girls, plus Justin and Owen, were the enemy. Anyway, Owen was in trouble. His blended meals meant that he was stuck in the bathroom all morning, while we were all left to wait – for some reason, he was trying to do his business, but couldn't. All the other bathrooms were out of order. Chef had made another blended concoction to help Owen...you know, go...but he refused it and Leshawna tried it instead.

After half an hour, Chris called us out. "Today, we're all about war movies," he told us, "So look lively, you-"

"Buckets of horse doo-doo!" Chef chipped in.

"So, get ready for the first death-defying challenge, you-"

"Disgusting slimy crustaceans!"

"Move it, privates!" Chris ordered. "Fall in."

"Sir, yes, Sir!" we chorused.

Harold boasted about being great at wars in virtual reality, and then about his Num-Yo – like numchucks but yo-yos. But not great when your opponent sticks out a branch.

"Harold just took a Num-Yo to the num-yo!" Duncan called out. Leshawna, Heather and I all giggled. "What a loser!"

Chris decided to blindfold us all before he led us into the first set – a WWI plane. After we took them off, he told us that we had to jump out of it.

"If we live, I was thinking I should totally be our team's admiral!" Lindsay spoke up to her teammates. Huh, it would be weird not thinking of her as one of my teammates.

"Admirals are in charge of sailors." Beth told her. "Generals are in charge of soldiers, generally."

"But Admiral sounds cuter!" Lindsay argued. "So from now on, I'd like to be called Admiral Lindsay, Her Hotness, okay?"

Justin went over to the two girls. "Beth, Lindsay, I wanna propose something, but don't get excited, it's not marriage." He laughed, but both of them looked blank. Justin wanted them to jump before him, to act as a soft landing.

Neither girl agreed. And to be honest, I could see why. Something was missing from earlier on. Justin had dazzled me, too, but now, for some reason, his looks didn't feel so dazzling. Maybe it was from seeing him every day.

Chris called us out to get jumping.

Izzy was the first. "Woohoo!" she exclaimed. "Tell my pet rock I love her!"

One by one, each of us exited the plane, screaming all the way...until we landed on a mattress. We'd been punked, thinking we were miles up in the air.

The second part of the challenge was creating paintball explosives. The most creative and controlled splatter won.

Harold started spouting some chemistry mumbo-jumbo until I spoke up. "Harold, get to the freaking point!" I snapped. "We're on limited time, so just use little words and tell us how to get the explosion to do what we want!"

"I agree." Heather added. "Try speaking in English!"

Duncan was already getting to work. Leshawna looked at him and said kindly to Harold "I think we'll have to stick with Duncan, honey."

"But why?" Harold asked, dejected.

"Vandal boy beats big chem nerd." Heather said bluntly. "It's a simple equation."

I shrugged and followed the girls. There was a time and a place for Harold's nerdiness, and this wasn't it.

Soon, we were ready. Chris handed Duncan the lever. "Time for a little punk rock!"

The ink turned into a skull. We'd been right – Duncan was awesome! As for the Killer Grips, Izzy insisted her imaginary friend Explosivo had done everything and created something uncontrolled. So we won!

"It is my honour to present your prize:" Chris said, as Chef wheeled it over. "The big trunk of mindblowing secrets! You'll be defending it with your very lives..."

This trailed off into a 'when we return' cut to ads, but still. Chef tried to give Owen another medicinal blend, but he refused it, and for the second time, Leshawna took it. But it looked like she was going to suffer.

Anyway, our last challenge was to keep the Grips from stealing our trunk. If we won, we got to see what was inside.

I picked the trunk up. "It's very light." I said out loud. "Oh, I know! Every story has this. There's nothing in it."

But Chris wouldn't confirm that, and the rest of the team believed there was something in it.

We had no real place to protect it. Duncan decided to start setting booby traps, so I came along. "You three figure out a way to protect it, if the Grips even get here." I said. "We'll make sure it doesn't come to that."

"Duncan, Stephanie, the rest of us have agreed on an actual plan. If you don't mind, we could use a little help." Harold protested.

"If you wouldn't mind, I could use a little shut your useless pie hole." Duncan retorted. "I'm busy."

"And we are helping." I added. "You dig the hole, we make sure the Grips don't get to the hole."

I was sure the Grips wouldn't even see it coming. Not with Lindsay leading them. They went straight onto the net, and got sent hurling back.

After that, Duncan and I headed for the hole that the others had dug.

"Ew!" I exclaimed, holding my nose. "This is worse than Owen!"

It turned out to be the effect of all the blended things Leshawna had been drinking. "I'm sorry." she said. "I feel like I really let the team down."

"You think!" snapped Duncan. "Harold, what have you been doing all this time?"

"Trying to keep the team together! No thanks to you, or your goth girlfriend, or Miss Toxic Emissions over there!"

"Blame Chef!" Leshawna interjected. "He made the stupid smoothies!"

"They were for Owen, not you!" I shot back. "And Harold, stop acting like you're so awesome! We didn't leave to be useless – we left so we would be helpful to you guys later!"

But it was Leshawna's gas that saved us. Yeah, with Heather gone and just the three of us against all of the Grips (except for "Her Hotness"), the odds weren't good, but Duncan and I decided to throw Harold a bone. He was trying so hard, so we turned Leshawna around, and they were blinded by the green emissons, causing Harold to get the upper hand. Duncan and I congratulated him.

"See what I'm saying?" I said, draping a friendly arm around his shoulder. "We value you, Harold. It's not that we don't – it's just that sometimes, the rest of us wanna step up and do something. But this time, it was all you."

We had won, while the Grips would have to go to a Gilded Chris ceremony. As for the trunk, we were allowed to open it. Inside was...

"I knew it!" I exclaimed. "Nothing!" The boys were devastated, though, so I walked back to the trailers with them, reminding them how much worse it could be. Hey, we didn't have to get rid of anyone. Yet.

Izzy was voted off that night. She wouldn't be back this time. And one of the most boring challenges of all time was over.

 **What a relief! Sorry if you liked this challenge, but it bored me.**


	42. Chapter 42

**Right. Let's see what's coming next! Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog and the guest reviewer.**

We had one of our two-day breaks before the next challenge (and then we'd get our letters at the end of the week). It was an Aftermath episode again. It was great to hang out with my new team, and I finally started feeling like a true Gaffer.

On the second day, Leshawna whispered to me that she'd been trying to make an alliance between herself and the guys. "You in?" she suggested. "I don't know how much longer I can live with Heather, and I bet we could all make it to the final four together."

I pretended to think about it. Then I grinned. "Let's do this!"

By the next challenge day, I wasn't so sure. The boys still didn't trust Leshawna over the spa day, but Heather surprisingly, had softened up a little bit. Or not. She went on about Leshawna's hair and how it needed restyling, and how she could write a book about it.

"Nobody's gonna argue with her?" Leshawna said incredulously.

"Sounds like an entertaining read." was Harold's reply.

"Except that we're listening to the girl who has more hair problems than anyone else." I argued. "Like not having any." Heather shot me a death glare. "Sorry, Hairless Wonder, but I've gotten so many glares from you that I've become immune to their effects. That is, provided they had any to start with."

But Leshawna got huffy and walked off anyway.

Owen's jaw had been unwired, and he was eating normally again, but even worse. He even went to Chef's kitchen.

Chris announced that today's genre was bank heist caper, and the first part of the challenge was unlocking a safe that our absent teammates were in. Owen would be in one, and Leshawna in the other, along with everything we needed to rob the bank. Once we had our teammate out, we would go to the bank set.

"Awesome!" I said enthusiastically. "This might actually be easy. Well, once we get Leshawna free, that is."

Duncan and I ended up having to wait while Heather and Harold started fighting. I looked at Duncan. "You wanna do the challenge or should I? You're the one that actually did this stuff at home."

Duncan shrugged. "Whatever. I'll let them keep arguing. But you might wanna make sure they don't screw up too badly."

There was no way I could stop Harold arguing with every single thing Heather did, though. She guessed that Chris might've done his birthday, or measurements, but those didn't work. Then she tried a bobby pin. "It worked on my sisters' diaries!"

"You're pathetic!" Harold snapped.

"You're pathetic-er!" Heather shot back.

"You're _both_ losers." Duncan and I said at the same time.

"Quit with the arguing, anyway." I snapped. "Harold, leave Heather alone – at least she's doing something. Heather, shut up and do what you think will work until one of us comes up with a better idea, in which case, step aside."

But once the Grips got Owen to free himself, we knew it was time to move. Eventually, we decided to just run for it – after all, we could rescue Leshawna after the challenge. Sure, we didn't have the bank-robbing kit, but that was all right. We all started making makeshift tools and disguises. Well, Duncan and I did.

Heather looked on in approval. "You guys are evil geniuses." she said.

I took that to the confessional later on. "That's the nicest thing Heather's ever said to me!" I grinned. "I've gotta remember that. In her book, I'm an evil genius. Hey, Lise, hear that? Heather's got a better opinion of me than I used to think!"

We did get to the First Bank of Chris first. Chris welcomed us to go to the teller first.

The bank teller looked surprisingly familiar, although we didn't see her face at first. She had long blonde hair and a curvy shape that I couldn't help thinking I'd seen somewhere before.

"Afternoon, ma'am." Duncan greeted her. "That's a great set of legs you got there, but right now I'd like to focus on those lovely hands of yours. I need them to start filling this pillowcase with cash."

The girl didn't yet turn around. "Anything else I can do for you today..." And I recognized her voice instantly.

But the next minute, she turned around, tossed the blonde wig away, and finished her sentence, "... _Duncan?"_

My teammate froze and collapsed to the ground at the sight of...his girlfriend.

I ran up to the teller, and remembring my promise to try to be nice to her, smiled. "Uh, hey, Courtney. Good to see you again."

Courtney smiled brightly, just as the Grips arrived. But it was Chris who gave us the legal explanation – Courtney would be back for the rest of the competition.

"She got booted out fair and square!" Heather protested.

Courtney smirked. "Sorry, Heather, but myself and the law firm of Fleckman, Fleckman, Cohen and Strauss would beg to differ. We filed a wrongful dismissal law suit against the producers...and _won."_

I made a confessional on that, too. "Okay, so Courtney thought it was unfair that she didn't get to be on this season. But bringing her back now isn't fair. The only reason I'm venting here and not in front of her is because she was booted unfairly last time...so guess she deserves another shot. But that's it."

Courtney got to choose who won – and of course she said us. As for the Grips – they got second prize. And that meant...a new teammate. Yeah, you heard me. Courtney was second prize, and she didn't look pleased about that at all.

Now, all we needed to do was go and grab our getaway cars.

"Getaway cars are always cool!" Harold said knowingly. "That's the rule of bank heist movies!"

Yeah, if unassembled go-karts with our team logo counted as "cool". I was hoping for a Rolls Royce – cool and traditional. Or something even older.

But Duncan got our go-kart done easily, while Courtney tried to get her team's one done alone. "How did I get stuck over here?" she complained.

"By letting us win?" I called over. "Don't be so sour, Court – I was on that team a couple episodes ago – you'll have fun, and I'm betting your law suit gives you immunity tonight anyway!"

Courtney half smiled, but she wasn't finished whining, especially since Justin wouldn't help and the others had disappeared.

Duncan was finished. "Hop in!" he said to the rest of us, and we zoomed off, stopping only for one little fliratious comment.

"Hey, Courtney, maybe you'll get to see more than just the back of me when the teams merge!" Duncan called.

We did end up going through tons of sets and costumes – Heather looked like a clown, Duncan wore a bonnet, Harold had a giant bra (bigger than Leshawna's size), and me? Well, I ended up wearing jewelery with tonnes of sparkly pink hearts. Ew, so girly!

But we still got to the finish line first, even when we were out of gas. We just had to push our go kart.

"I WILL NOT BE SECOND PLACE!" Courtney screeched as we passed her.

"Wanna bet?" Chris smirked. We had won again, while the Grips had to go to elimination again. And our loot wasn't even proper money – it was just for tap water in the craft tent.

I was the only one who went back to the safe to try and free Leshawna. "Hey, can you hear me?" I called.

"Yes, and I can also hear the Gilded Chris music!" Leshawna called back. "Why am I still in here?"

"The rest of the team wanted to go on without you, and time was important!" I called. While trying to open the safe, I told her everything that had happened, and how Courtney was back.

She was out before midnight. And as for the Grips...well, Courtney did have invincibility, but everyone voted for her anyway. Only her vote counted, and she took out Owen.

 **To be honest, I like Courtney. She's in my top ten. Well, only just. She's tenth on my list, beaten out by Heather, Gwen, Alejandro, Dawn, Bridgette, Sierra, Jasmine, Cameron and Scarlett. But hey, she's beaten out a lot of others...although if I add in Ridonculous Race characters, I think I prefer Emma, who's very much like Courtney. Anyway, this may be Courtney's most villainous season, but boy will that be fun to write!**


	43. Chapter 43

**Let's keep going. Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog and totaldramafan2.**

Our third-week break got me three letters – one from Tasha from just after the hospital movie challenge, and two from Lisa – one from that time, and one from just after the horror movie challenge.

I read Tasha's first:

 _Steph!_

 _Wow, those last few episodes were a blast! As for the Aftermath – well, poor Trent. And I'm sorry that Gwen got eliminated – there's some clips online of retrospectives, and Gwen was terrified when she heard there was an aftermath show._

 _Did everyone recover from the pizzas? Hope so. Anyway, everyone at Springfield High is talking about you and the show now. Our group is all rooting for you, but we're all debating who should go next and who should be in the final two. We're all gunning for Heather again, but Azure and Sunshine are both saying Justin should go. Well, he has been acting like a jerk recently. I didn't even notice him in the first season - didn't Heather get people to kick him off to cover herself after she read out Gwen's diary?_

 _Stick it out, Steph! If Wikipedia is right, you've got fifteen more genres to go through. Good luck on 'em!_

 _Love Tasha._

Next, I read the first one from Lisa.

 _Dear Stephanie,_

 _You really gave Mom a near heart attack with that illness thing last episode. I started working out it had to do with the pizzas or staying up all night when you, Duncan and Leshawna were the only ones not on stretchers, saying that you thought you were going to die. And yeah – but it's weird that it took longer for it to kick in with Duncan. I mean, Leshawna was the only one that didn't eat any of the pizza, right? Good job on that, by the way. But in case you wanna know – Leshawna fake cried to get the reward. She was desperate to hang out with that cousin she had. And yes, Chris meant it when he said Bart got to fly over in case you got the reward. He got back just before the prison movie episode aired, and told us everything he knew. He got a tour around the movie lot while you were barricaded in quarantine, he said, and he sneaked into the trailers. Did Duncan mention that he'd lost a hook recently? And speaking of which, he brought your black cowboy hat home with him. Did you know you'd lost it?_ (I hadn't noticed it going missing, but when I checked, yeah, it was gone).

 _Did you have to go along with that whole blackmailing Gwen thing? I know what happened with her and Trent was wrong, but still!_

 _Anyway, that's all for now._

 _Love, Lisa_

The last one was shorter:

 _Stephanie,_

 _I know I already wrote to you after the hospital movie, but we just saw the horror movie challenge and I realized I forgot to tell you about the family._

 _Dad started rooting for you this episode. With you and Lindsay arguing, he decided he liked your character better. Mom got pretty frustrated with him seeing you as a character rather than his daughter._

 _Bart was really disappointed that there wasn't much gore in this episode – you know what he's like with horror movies. But good for DJ, standing up for himself and doing the right thing._

 _Maggie's still missing you a lot. She loves kindergarten, but she brings back drawings of you every day she has art. She's drawn a lot of Total Drama-based pictures, actually. She's glued to it and keeps drawing you hanging out with people on the show. She seems to especially like drawing Lindsay. I'm not sure why. But speaking of Lindsay, the reason she was getting bossy was because Heather called her a spineless follower. Then she said being bossy felt "almost better than being pretty". If she's still being bossy now, that's the reason._ (Guess that explained the whole "Admiral Lindsay Her Hotness" thing).

 _Everyone sends their love. We're rooting for you!_

 _Love Lisa (and family)_

I spent the rest of the day catching up on coursework, only stopping to go to dinner, and later on, talk to Leshawna about the Gaffers-minus-Heather alliance. "Are we still going to try it while the guys are mad at you?"

"I'm holding off for awhile." she admitted. "But if they start coming around, will you be ready?"

I nodded. "Yeah. But you'll forgive me if I don't tell the boys that straight out, right? I don't want Duncan to hate me momentarily, and Harold gets so moody if I do anything he doesn't like."

In the trailer the next day, the other girls were complaining about Courtney getting back in the game while we got ready for the day. Leshawna was also snapping at Heather about leaving her in the safe.

"You stole my spa day." Heather justified. "Do the crime, do the time."

"Wasn't your spa day! Besides, I could've starved in there, people!"

"I seriously doubt that." Heather eyed Leshawna's bulk. True, she was plump, but that didn't mean she wasn't beautiful.

"And what was it _you_ planned at doing at the spa without washing your hair?" Leshawna said furiously.

"Good point." I jumped in.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Lindsay, who was brushing her hair. "I've got my hair in a knot! Beth, could you-"

"Here." Heather said in an obviously fake sweet voice. "Let me." She tugged.

Lindsay gave a squeal. "Heather! I think you pulled my eyes into the back of my head!"

"Not a bad idea." Leshawna commented. "With Courtney on your team, you better watch your back."

"She's so bossy." Beth added.

"And uptight." I put in. "And last night, I heard her arguing with Duncan. Sounds like they've broken up momentarily." This was true. Courtney had been yelling at him about hooking up with Gwen. Then she accused him of flirting with me. Some girlfriend, not trusting him.

"And it's not like we needed _another_ know-it-all on the show." Lindsay finished.

"Oh, really?" Heather said.

"Ow!" Lindsay cried as the bald girl yanked the hairbrush again. "I was talking about me! Now that Bossy McSmartypants is back, no one's ever gonna listen to me ever again!"

"Sorry, did you say something?" Leshawna and I said at the same time.  
"But seriously, Linds," I said, "How many ideas did you actually come up with? From what I got, Beth told you everything you had to say."

Heather finally got the knot out of Lindsay's hair, just as the door opened to reveal the girl we'd all been talking about. "Hey, girls."

We all frowned. Courtney gave us an annoyed look. "Isn't anyone glad to see me?"

Heather approached her and touched a strand of Courtney's brown hair, saying in the creepiest voice ever "Great to have your hair..." Then she realized what she was saying. "...here! Here! It's great to have you here, Courtney!"

But at that moment, a sound reverbrated through the camp, before I could say something (like saying in front of all the girls that Heather's lack of hair was making her lose her mind). That was our cue to go and find out about today's challenge (it was going to originally be a reward challenge, but with an extra competitor, it meant it would be another elimination challenge).

Chris was dressed in a loincloth, having just made the sound with a giant horn-like thing. But before he could start the challenge, he had to state a bunch of rules that would apply to Courtney. Like getting a PDA to contact the outside when the rest of us only got letters.

"What?" cried Beth. "That's so not fair! I'm the one with the boyfriend!"

"Care to take that up with her legal department, Beth?" Chris replied. He continued on. Courtney also got to have the same nice food that Chris and the producers got, while us contestants were stuck with Chef's slop. We all thought this was unfair.

Chris smirked at Courtney. "Let's see your lawyers get you out of this one."

In my opinion, Courtney's rebuttal was pretty weak. "What? I'm still sleeping in the girls' trailer!"

Chris added that she still got more comforts there, like a goosedown pillow and better quality sheets. "And her own private bathroom!"

See? Unfair.

"Those are the new rules." Chris said. "Let's call them 'Courtney's Rules' in honour of Courtney, who gets special treatment. And an unfair advantage." He was clearly enjoying this.

"Nice." Duncan remarked. "Our spoilt princess didn't waste any time hooking herself up."

"And _you_ didn't waste any time hooking up with Gwen after I left..." Courtney retorted, "And then hooking up with Stephanie after Gwen left."

I shot a death glare at Courtney. "Oh yeah, I wish."

"While I'm flattered that you're obviously still hot for me," Duncan said, "My relationships are none of your business."

"You're on TV! They're everyone's business!"

"Than at least the whole world knows that _I_ play by the rules. Most of the time. What, don't think you can win the million bucks fair and square?"

"I could kick your three-timing butt with my eyes closed and both hands tied behind my back!"

Soon, they were at each other's throats again, just like on the island before they hooked up. It was too bad Duncan and I had agreed to just be friends, otherwise I would hook up with him in a heartbeat, even if it was just while I was in Canada..but that would kind of make the friendship a bit weird.

But Chris decided to get to the challenge. "Today's challenge – the period movie!"

"Ooh, I love period movies!" Beth gushed. "All the pretty petticoats and dresses with puff sleeves..."

"Do we get wigs?" Heather asked excitedly.

I nudged her. "Look at what Chris is wearing. Somehow, I think we're going further back than you're thinking, when girls who lost their hair had to stay bald. You could play a good injured cavegirl, who got her hair clawed off or something."

But she did get a wig – a red one with a bone in it, which somehow suited her.

And yeah, we were doing movies in the Stone Age era, although Beth had to explain it to Lindsay.

"No talking!" Chris ordered. "Cavepeople grunt and look confused. Which means for once, you're all perfectly cast!"

First, we had to get dressed up in loincloths, just like Chris.

"You'll look perfect, Duncan." Courtney said slyly. "You're already a total Neanderthal."

Not that Duncan didn't look kind of hot in the loincloth, actually. I managed to find a dark brown furkini and wore that – the only dark colour in the wardrobe.

As Courtney complained about some kind of claw being in her furkini, I noticed Heather looking at her strangely. She sneaked up, holding scissors up to Courtney's hair, but quickly snipped the tag off the furkini when the brunette turned. "Um, there! Got it!"

It was time for the first challenge. Chef handed out flints to each of us. We had to go and look for firewood, and then make fire with the flints. The first team to make fire won the advantage.

Okay, so after Harold's run-in with killer beavers and another attempt from Heather to cut off Courtney's hair (yes, that's what she was trying to do), Duncan made fire.

Oh, and Courtney accused him of hooking up with Gwen and I again.

"Courtney, did you say that to Gwen?" I asked. "What did she say?"

"She's a liar." Courtney muttered. "I know what I saw. And don't tell me _you_ didn't hook up with him either!"

I rolled my eyes. "All right, I admit it. I hooked up with your boyfriend." I said in a sarcastic tone. "But I hooked up with him on the island and right now, we are just friends."

As I expected, my tone kept Courtney from seeing my words as truth (even though it was), but she didn't press the issue any further.

So yeah, we got fire first, and we all started cheering.

"You obviously gave me fake flints!" Courtney yelled at Chris. "Nobody could start a fire with these ridiculous props!"

Oh, no? Lindsay set a fire with the flints pretty easily. But we'd still done it first.

We had a few hours' break for lunch. We got to make confessionals, and I even talked to Duncan.

"So...what's the deal with you and Courtney?" I asked. "You guys together or not?"

"She says she's dumped me." Duncan answered. "I'm not going to run after her, even if that's what she wants. But I'm pretty sure she still wants me."

"As evidenced by her accusing you of hooking up with two of us." I grinned. "I almost wish I had."

Duncan gave me a warning glance. "Don't go getting any ideas, Stephie." he said. "Besides, if you get sent to hospital from Courtney maiming you, I won't be visiting."

I laughed. "All right, all right. We already had this conversation. You're not into me, we can't be together, long distance relationships don't work, blah blah blah. I bet I could try to hook up with one of the single guys on the aftermath if I get eliminated."  
"You wanna bet on that?" Duncan said, his blue eyes lighting up.

"What if I don't get eliminated?"

"What if you do?"

"Okay." I sighed. "If I get eliminated before the sixth week begins, I'll bet you five bucks I can get Trent, DJ, Ezekiel, Noah or Cody to hook up with me. If they verify my story, I win."

"You're on."

I should add here that I didn't get a turn in the confessional during the break. I was waiting when an intern ran in. Heather was making a confessional about having cut off a lock of Courtney's hair, and I heard her yelling at the intern. "No, you can't have it! It's mine! Well, it was Courtney's, but I took it, which makes it mine!" But then Chris called me back before Heather was done.

We didn't win the advantage when Chris called us back, though. Apparently, they'd reviewed the footage of this morning, and they'd seen Duncan using his lighter. So we got tiny bones, and the Grips got giant ones. According to Chris, we had to fight each other on two podiums in a tar pit. We had to try to knock each other off our podium.

"Gaffers, since there's five of you, one person will have to sit out." Chris added. I looked around at my team. Duncan and Leshawna were the strongest, so...

"Fine." I sighed, when Harold and Heather both looked as if they'd kill me if I made one of them sit out. "I'll do it."

We got off to a good start. Leshawna got rid of Lindsay easily. But then a pterodactyl got hold of Heather's red wig, and she nearly fell off the podium, then got caught by Beth, who then let go and won.

Leshawna cheered, and Duncan nudged her. "Hey, whose team are you on, anyway?"

"Yours. And hers. But it's kind of lose-win, know?"

The beavers went for one of the podiums while Harold was up there, but both he and Justin fell in, which left Duncan against Courtney. And only one podium was left standing.

"Quit trying to make out with me." Duncan laughed as Courtney steadied herself against him.

"All you're going to kiss is the end of my bone!" Courtney yelled. But nearly both of them fell, grabbed onto each other...and then kissed.

I giggled, and called up "Hey, casanova, quit flirting and shove her off!"

But as it turned out, his attraction to Courtney was too much. She made like she was going to kiss him again, and then hit him in the most sensitive of places, and he was down.

The Killer Grips had won, and us Gaffers were going to elimination.

There was no contest in who to vote off. Who hadn't helped us much? Who was a strong competitor on their own? Who had spent more time worrying about her lack of hair than winning?

Chris threw awards to me, Duncan, Leshawna and Harold.

Heather gasped and stood up. "What? You voted _me_ off? Me?"

I shrugged. "Hey, at least you can go and get a decent wig now. By the way, I count this as payback for everything you've done. If you wanna move past everything you did last season, I'll be happy to pretend it didn't happen."

Well, the first Queen of Mean was gone. But as I knew, once one queen bee was gone, another was there to take her place. And this one was preppy and competitive.

 **Yeah, I do think that Courtney was just as bad as Heather this season. Well...not really...but she was still pretty horrible. And yes, I kicked Heather off an episode early and decided to make this an elimination challenge, instead of the next one. After all, Stephanie has to have a space to compete in the sports movie challenge...and I see her as being...well, not particularly weak, but weaker than Leshawna and Duncan.**


	44. Chapter 44

**I like this challenge. Weird, since I am pretty much the one person who would do anything to get out of sports. Like when I got to junior year, I got to quit PE and could pretty much use the extra hour for anything I wanted – do homework early, catch up, or if I didn't have anything to do – go on YouTube!**

 **Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog (did you not like it?).**

We got a break the next day, as usual. However, Chris had warned us that the next two challenges would not have a break between them, but it wasn't so bad. The next two were reward challenges, to make up for the war, bank heist and period movie challenges all being eliminations. That meant we could afford to slack off a tiny bit.

Most of us, with the exception of Beth, awoke to the new challenge two days later from the sound of a trumpet. Beth was sleepwalking, twirling Courtney's PDA as she did so. Courtney had to grab it off her as the smaller girl woke up.

"I'm so sorry!" Beth gasped. "I must've started sleep-twirling again."

"Did she say sleep-twirling?" Leshawna repeated.

Courtney glared. "That PDA is my legal right in this game. Touch it again, Beth, and prepare to be served!"

At that moment, we all got served...with balls of pasta for breakfast. According to Chris, it was carbo-loading for the sports movie challenge.

Awww, sports movies? So boring. And I knew that it was going to be just like gym class. First, we had to do a 3 kilometre run to astroturf. Then we had to push sweaty Chef the length of the field.

"We've gotta push spiced-up Chef like he's a football dummy?" Justin repeated.

"Don't call me a dummy." Chef warned.

I gave a sigh. "Fine. Let's do it. Pushing a football dummy, pushing Chef...not much difference. I'm just going to have to sweet-talk Courtney into letting me use her private bathroom so I can shower properly."

"Take it up with my lawyers." Courtney said coldly. "That bathroom is mine. I don't remember anything in the contract about letting anyone borrow it."

I shrugged. "Whatever."

That wasn't the only football drill we all had to do. Actually, most of the drills weren't normal. Like hopping tyres, and crawling under spiky wire in the mud.

"That truly bit." Duncan remarked.

"Who won, anyway?" Courtney demanded.

Chris consulted his clipboard, muttering equations as he calculated the results. "Nobody!" he finally said.  
"Huh?"

"It was just to establish who's playing who in the real contest to follow." He gestured to the scoreboard screen, which showed stick figures punching, playing tennis or something, fighting, and throwing a ball. "We're running four sporto contests, with competitors seeded according to these results." Our faces appeared, with us on one side, the Grips on the other. My face appeared third from the top, and it looked like I'd be facing...Beth? Huh, okay. I could crush her. She didn't do that well under pressure, anyway.

As it turned out, the stick figure punching meant that the first contest was boxing. Apparently, the two facing each other first did the worst in the drills. So that meant our most unathletic player was Harold, and he was up against Lindsay.

But this boxing match wasn't normal. Chris said they had to do it in slow motion, and they had marshmallow boxing gloves. "Props, so you don't hurt those pretty actor faces."

Harold's slow motion was awesome, but Lindsay was fiercer. She even bit into one of Harold's boxing gloves!

"Don't eat it!" Courtney yelled from the sidelines. "Play dirtier!" She noticed Duncan looking at her. "What?"

"I like when you talk like that."

I pretended to gag, and then whispered to Duncan "When you get back with her, experiment. Bet she'll love it if you talk like that to her."

"Oh, trust me, Stephie, I've got a lot of experimenting to do." Duncan grinned back.

Lindsay knocked Harold to the ground in the second round (announced by Chef in a purple bikini – ew). But Chris declared him the winner. We all cheered.

"But I knocked him out!" Lindsay protested.  
"He gained a bunch of extra points for doing such great slow motion." Chris grinned. "And I had to dock you for biting. Very unsportsman-like, Ms Tyson."

Lindsay scowled. "This was fixed!" Her team had to hold her back.

I hadn't done that great in the drills, but I had beaten Beth in those. We were up next, and it turned out that the rackets with the stick figures weren't tennis rackets – we were playing badminton.

Yeah, I was better at tennis, unlike Dad. We had a tennis court for awhile, and our neighbours loved coming, because Dad was so lazy and Mom couldn't take on two players alone. I remember. Mom was telling us that Sideshow Mel said that we would never know how they made fun of us. But anyway, Dad made me and Lisa learn the game, and we got pretty good. But badminton? I wasn't sure.

Chris decided to show off. He'd been in a movie called _Goodminton_ and did a...well, I'd call it meh...recreation of one of the scenes.

I smirked at Beth. "You think you can take me?"

"You can do it, Beth!" Courtney called.

But Beth looked worried as Chris tossed her a stuffed bird to use. She dropped it when it squeaked. "It's alive!"

"It's stuffed." Chris told her. "With a squeaker. That okay, Chicken Little?" He threw the bird to me. "Serve to Stephanie!"

For awhile, I was leading.

"Bring it!" Leshawna yelled to me. "Show her who's in charge!"  
"That's right, Stephie! No mercy!" Duncan called out.

"Serve her up a hot steaming bowl of humiliation!" Harold joined in.

To be honest, I blame Leshawna for losing us that round. The next thing she did was call to Beth "Your chances of winning are just about as real as your boyfriend!"  
And wow, if that was true, then Beth really did have a boyfriend. She suddenly went into crazy mode and I couldn't have won, no matter what I did. You should've seen her.

The Grips all cheered.

I didn't congratulate Beth, but I managed to smile bravely.

"You got game, girl," Leshawna conceded, "But you still don't have a boyfriend."

And then, that was when Beth turned on her. "You just resent me for being a champion baton-twirler! Just like you resent everybody here!"

"Excuse me?"

"Why don't you admit it?" Beth scowled. "Or should we have Courtney play what you said about all of us on her PDA?"

"I told you to stay away from my PDA!"

Beth ignored her. "It's on the Total Drama website, Leshawna! Everything you said about all of us when you went on that spa night!"

We all gasped.

"You said mean things about _me_?" Lindsay said.

"Lemme see, lemme see!" Harold insisted.

"No!" Courtney refused. Well, that was until Duncan tried to persuade her, and Courtney relented, saying "Only because I think you all have the right to know what she said."

"There's nothing to see! You guys will be bored!" Leshawna protested, but it was too late.

Courtney was playing the clip, and Leshawna was with her cousin, talking. She'd just finished talking about Heather. " _Just mean for the sake of being mean."_ But then, it went on to people here. " _Lindsay has half a brain cell, max, and it's usually gone out shopping. Oh, oh, problem with Justin's giant ego! Duncan likes to think he's a bad boy, but when Courtney was there, she basically dragged him around by his eyebrow ring. Stephanie thinks we admire her quips, when it just makes her seem like a spoilt rich brat."_ I gasped, but I tuned back in long enough to hear the end of it. " _Beth actually wears a side ponytail. A side pony! And Harold? Dang fool's sweet on me, but he's getting about as much play as an old-school cassette tape in a world of MP3s!"_

The Leshawna on the screen and her cousin burst out laughing, and Courtney switched the tape off.

I was the first to whirl around and glare at Leshawna, who desperately tried to defend herself. "You don't understand! That was outside the game! I didn't know anybody would see it!"

"So you weren't just joking?" Lindsay said. "I thought maybe you were joking."

Nope. No matter what, there was no way Leshawna could win back our respect. I'd forgiven her for fake-crying her way to the reward. She'd earned it, after all. But trash-talking about all of us? Yeah, and oh, by the way, I don't quip to be admired. I quip because I feel like it – and yeah, maybe I am spoilt, but Leshawna herself was pretty outspoken. If I'd gotten that spa night, would I have told Bart that she was way too blunt, too loud, and had a short temper? No way! But she was absolutely happy to bad-mouth me to her cousin who I'd never met?

Scratch that friend off my list and consider if I should kick her off before Harold (Later on, I found out that after watching the Aftermaths, had Heather been there, she would've been the only one not angry, because in her opinion, Leshawna was just telling it like it is).

But it was time for the next challenge. This time, it was Duncan vs Courtney.

"He shoots, he scores!" Duncan cheered.

This I had to see. Both of them had to wear basically their swimsuits. The fighting icons symbolized that these two would be...wrestling. In a kiddie ball pit. Yeah – and I'm pretty sure Chris was making some kind of reference to the adults watching, that "wrestling in balls" also meant wrestling nude.

"Now play ball!"

The two of them dived into the pit. Courtney came out on top of Duncan, one leg wrapped around his chest and her arms around his face. "What's the matter, big boy?" she teased. "Can't swim?"

When they found a diaper in the pit, Courtney shoved it into Duncan's mouth, and I was instantly glad I hadn't been up against her. Maybe she'd only been second in her team in the drills, but she was definitely the toughest. "Come on, tough man!" she kept teasing Duncan. We couldn't help laughing.

Duncan spat out the diaper. "That's it! No more Mr Nice Guy!" He made a 'come at me, bro' motion, and Courtney knocked him down with one kick, pinning him down.

Duncan made one last attempt and got free, but got distracted, giving Courtney just enough time to get him in a headlock. He surrendered.

"In your face, Duncan!" cried Courtney. "I am the world champion ball wrestler!"

Justin and Leshawna were last. They had to do as creative a slam-dunk as possible. Sadly, at this point, I almost wanted Justin to win. Leshawna herself looked as if she wanted to just disappear, but she executed a pretty good slam dunk, getting Justin as well as the ball through the hoop. Well, it got us to two-all.

I managed to say "Pretty good slam dunk." to Leshawna. But then I added, "But I'm really going to have to think hard about whether I still want you in the game if we go back to elimination at the end of the week." Although I knew the merge was approaching, which meant that I'd probably have to get rid of Leshawna anyway. Only after Courtney, though.

Our tiebreaker was cheerleading. Chris explained what we had to do. "Each team's gotta dig deep, and create a cheer for someone they think deserves cheering."

The Grips instantly went into a huddle.

"Ooh, ooh! I got it!" Harold exclaimed. "Let's cheer for Norbert Swinlow." He saw our blank looks and said "The inventor of the pom-pom. Duh."

I rolled my eyes. "Lame. Why don't I just suggest we cheer for Heather or something? How many people do all of us know who really deserves a cheer?"

"Hey, while we're fighting, they're working on whipping our butts!" Leshawna snapped, gesturing at the team.

And Chris wanted us to go first. We were lost for words.

But none of us was as surprised – or pleased – when Leshawna began a cheer. She was improvising it, but it felt like a winning cheer. " _Courtney, Courtney, she's my pal! She loves her PDA, she's an organized gal!_

 _Lindsay and Justin might be dumb, but I'd be so proud if they called me their chum!_

 _Steph'nie, Steph'nie, smart and goth, with a heart of gold, maybe, but she ain't soft!_

 _Duncan and Beth, they're quite a pair – he's tough, she's goofy, but they both got flair!_

 _And Harold's the best, he's quite a guy, he's goofy and scrawny but he's got my eye! WOO-OO!"_

And with just five rhymes, Leshawna had almost redeemed herself. Did she really think I was smart and had a heart of gold deep down? It didn't mean she didn't think my being witty made me seem bratty. It could be true. I would have to talk to her after the challenge.

"That was either the coolest thing, or the dorkiest thing I've ever seen." Harold stated.

"Cool or dorky, it sounded unbeatable to me." I said. "Beat that, Grips!"

Honestly, it was so unfair. We should've won. The only reason Chris declared the Killer Grips the winners was because their cheer was for him. Smart move, yeah. But not fair on anyone else. So they got the reward, and we lost, yet again.

I had a serious talk with Leshawna afterwards. "I know I shouldn't have said all those mean things." she admitted. "But listen, I meant all the nice things I said even more!"

"But you _did_ mean all the other stuff?" I challenged. "But I don't try to be witty to get attention. I do it because that's who I am."

"Okay, so I meant that." Leshawna said, looking ashamed of herself now. "But I swear, I didn't mean to hurt anyone! I needed to vent while I was out of the game, and I guess it sounded a lot worse than I thought. But I swear, everything I said in that cheer was true."

I paused. "And that brings me to one more question. If you like Harold that much, why won't you give him a chance?"

"What kind of question is that?" my she's-probably-my-friend-again said, looking annoyed. "Harold and I are just friends. And that's all we'll ever be. Case closed."

Well, what could I say? I couldn't force her to talk about it if she didn't want to.

 **I figured that Leshawna might actually attack the part of Stephanie that is actually quite close to her own flaws, but she also praised traits that they both possess – a heart of gold.**


	45. Chapter 45

**So, well...spy movies. Yay. Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog and SuperKitty4789.**

Even with Leshawna redeeming herself, our team was pretty lackluster. I went to the confessional about it. "Okay, so Leshawna dissed us. But she also praised us. I still think she deserved the spa night, so she's forgiven, as far as I'm concerned. I wish Duncan and Harold would soften up a little bit. Okay, no I don't, but I wish they'd be a little nicer to Leshawna. I mean, poor Harold! How long can he keep up acting like he'd mad at her anyway?"

When I came back, Lindsay was pounding on the door of the girls' trailer, trying to talk to it. "Door, it's me, Lindsay, from this morning! Remember?"

"Door, meet doorknob." Courtney quipped.

Lindsay pulled on the door handle, and that's when it happened. A camera came down, scanned Lindsay's face, and the steps turned into a ramp, a pitfall appeared below, and Lindsay fell in, screaming.

Duncan was the first to run over, but something was shot into his neck, and he fell in with a sigh.

"Dunkie!" Courtney cried, running over. I ran with her, but something hit us in the back of our heads, and the last thing I saw before pitch black was the pitfall.

I woke up in an underground area with the rest of the contestants. Still, I remembered one thing I had to address.

"So," I smiled sweetly at Courtney. "'Dunkie', huh? I thought you guys weren't dating any more."

"We're not!" Courtney said fiercely. "Excuse me for caring about the guy who was my first kiss! It's not like I don't hate him any more." She paused, looked at me, and added "Because I do!"

Justin was freaking out because he'd looked in his mirror and seen his eye swelling up after Beth accidentally poked it. "I am a hideous beast!" he screamed. "Nobody will hire me any more! My modelling career is over! I'll have to go work in the circus as a... as one of those...circus freaks!"

"Justin, circus freaks aren't used any more because it's so insensitive to legless people, and hunchbacks, and everyone else who have problems with the way they look. Nowadays, no one is that shallow." I told him. "Oh, wait. You are." Hey, I wasn't going to quit with the quips just because one person thinks it makes me look bratty.

Courtney brushed herself off. "Where is my PDA?" Beth picked it up, offering it to her, but Courtney didn't even thank her. "Oh! Trying to steal it again, I see!"

"No! I was just trying to give it back!" Beth protested. "Swearsies!"

Courtney made the "I'm watching you" motion and stalked off.

Finally, a screen appeared, with Chris on it. He was wearing an eyepatch and stroking a cat like a Bond villain. "Welcome to ze cloak-and-dagger world of spy moviees," he said, "Man and woman."

"What's with the weird accent from...oh, I don't know, NOWHERE?" I yelled.

"It's just bad." Duncan told me. "It's supposed to be Jamaican, I think."

"Jamaican?" Leshawna repeated. "More like Japanese."

"No, Swedish!" Courtney argued.  
"French!" Beth suggested.

"Kind of sounds Italian to me." Harold commented.

"Hellooo," snapped Chris, "It's Russian. And I should know, because I am an actor!" He went on to explain the challenge. "Every good spy in every good spy movie must have three essential skills: one, the ability to deactivate a bomb. Two, the ability to escape from an exploding building. And three, the ability to fake an accent that makes people believe you actually speak the language. Like my fab Russian accent, mon! You'll need two of the three skills to get through today's reward challenges. Can you guess which two? Let me give you a hint: Not the tird one, mon!" He kept switching back to the horrible Russian accent, not being able to pronounce "third", and saying "mon". Wasn't that Jamaican?

But Chris had another piece of essential info. "Oh, and one last thing. Since I'm really ho-hum bored with the teams, I'm busting them up! From now on, it's every dude and dudette for themselves!"

I looked around at everyone else. Last time, Duncan, Leshawna, Lindsay and I had been there. But the other half had left then. Now we'd get to see what it was like when they were on their own. And even better, what Lindsay would do alone when she had to think for herself.

But everyone else was devastated.

"Breaking us up?" Leshawna cried. "After everything we've been through?"

We were all silent, a montage playing in our heads. Good memories, scary memories. We were truly friends.

I began to softly sing a tune from an old sitcom – a Canadian one that was sort of like _Friends_ but with teens. " _Time to hang with all my friends, we like to be together,_

 _In a place where we belong...I'm sixteen, starting to find my way...something something, sixteen_

 _Life is sweet, when you're growing up so fast, gotta make the good times last..."_

I was snapped out of it when I realized my ex-teammates were staring at me. "Um," I said. "Sorry. I guess we better get started."

"You've got a good singing voice, though." Beth smiled at me. I wasn't sure whether she was just being her usual nice self or if she meant it. All the same, I grinned back and Courtney shot me a jealous look.

"What's the matter, Court?" I teased. "Did you want to sing?"

The brunette ignored me, turning back to the task at hand.

First thing to do: Get out of the underground and find a way back up. That was easy – Justin accidentally found an elevator for us. So we were all up to the top in seconds, and there was a projection of Chris waiting for us.

"Don't I look awesome in blue? Now, for the first part of the spy movie challenge. See that case in the middle of the room? You have to get whatever's inside, cause you're gonna need it for the part two of the challenge."

The glass case had a little brown sack, and I wondered what kind of spy tools were in there. Ziplining tools, maybe? Something that would get us out of here and make it easier to defuse a bomb, that much I knew.

But the minute Duncan made a move towards the case, the lasers sprang up. We had to get to that case without setting off the alarms.

Leshawna looked at the lasers. "Fitting under there is not gonna be easy for this bountiful booty."

Justin was talking to himself. "Brain, got any ideas?"

I looked down at myself. "I'll try to get in."

"Wanna go together, BFF?" Beth and Lindsay chorused. Five minutes later, they were arguing, not sure what to do next and blaming each other. I was slowly and cautiously sliding down, trying not to pay attention. But when a flash of brown and grey somersaulted past me, I knew I had to go a whole lot quicker. But no matter what I did, Courtney was way ahead, and going about as fast as me. So although I actually did manage to get past the lasers, I only got there while Courtney was running at the case, kicking it to shards. The lasers disappeared, and Courtney had won that part of the challenge.

Courtney looked in the sack. "That's odd. Just some weird gun thingy and some wire cutters."

I rolled my eyes. "You don't watch many spy movies, do you? My brother and I are really into them. Well – he is and I have to suffer. That's a grappling hook – attach it to another building and zipline down."

At that moment, the Chris projection came up again. "The room blows in ten!" The seconds began counting down.

We all screamed.

Beth and Lindsay clung to each other, saying that they'd miss each other's smile. Leshawna grabbed onto Justin, and Courtney wrapped her arms around Duncan, while I slung an arm around his shoulders. If I had nothing keeping me up, I would've collapsed.

"I'm too knowledgeable to die!" Harold cried, curled up.

"Three, two, one..." Chris continued. "...SUCKERS!" He started laughing. "You should've seen the looks on your faces!"

Courtney immediately let go of Duncan and shoved him into me, making both of us fall on the floor. I was the first to get up and shove Courtney back. She scowled, but didn't retaliate.

But then Chris began the real countdown to the explosion. We could use the zipline hook to escape...but that was only if Courtney chose to share them.

Leshawna found an opening, and there was a building across for the zipline. But ther was one person it all depended on.

"Not so fast!" Courtney said. "What do I hear for a ride to freedom?"

We all stared at her. Was she crazy?  
Leshawna said what we were all thinking. "You're willing to bargain...WITH OUR LIVES?"

"Um, duh. And the offers better be good. I've already got a PDA."

Lindsay offered her face lotion. Harold offered his action figure. Beth offered her totally innocent French maid's outfit (she was in a play).

But there was only one thing Courtney was after. "I share the prize money with you fifty-fifty if you win."

"What?" we chorused. But if we wanted to live, we had to agree to it. One by one, we all nodded, and Courtney kept her word.

She used Harold's belt as a T-bar, and all of us clung to her as we ziplined to the other building. As for the exploding building...

Nothing.

"As if we have the budget to blow up an entire building! I was just playing with you." Chris was standing there, looking pleased with himself as usual. "Again. Because I can."  
But there was one more challenge. We all had one bomb each attached to a barrel, and we had to defuse it within the time limit. However, if it went off, the barrel's contents would cover us (and that means all of us). They contained the most disgusting, rancid, skunk spray-like substances Chris could find. And again, the way we defused them would all depend on whether Courtney shared her wire cutters or not.

We had three minutes.

"How are we supposed to know which wire to cut first?" I wondered. "Every type of bomb is different."

"Hey, everybody!" Beth called. "Lindsay's cutting the blue wire!"

"Great, let us know how that works out for you." Courtney responded.

"Can Lindsay borrow the wire cutters?"

Courtney hesitated. She didn't say no, she just looked at the wire cutters. I knew she was having an inner battle with herself – huh, so her heart was still in full working order. Who would've thought?

But since we'd all get the contents of the barrels over us, Courtney decided to hand them over.

Lindsay carefully cut the wire and...it stopped.

"She did it!" Beth cheered. "My BFF did it!"

We all started cheering, but then Duncan spoke. "Save the celebrations..we still have seven more barrels and only fifty-three more seconds."

We all went for the blue wire. Harold bit it, Duncan ripped it, Beth burned it with her glasses, and I put mine into the line of light when Justin deflected it with his mirror, so both of ours were done at the same time. Then Leshawna pulled hers apart, and Courtney cut hers.

But there was one problem. "No. Way." I looked at my bomb. Still ticking. And there was no time left, not even to run. We all choked as the seven barrels covered us. We had to sit in tomato juice for the next few hours – although we wouldn't let Courtney in until she took back the fifty-fifty deal.

And during the break, Lindsay and Courtney both got a reward for winning the challenges. "An all-expenses-paid trip to...a local cheese factory!"

Lindsay clapped her hands together. "Isn't it great, Courtney? We get to cut the cheese together."

"One, I'm lactose intolerant." scowled Courtney. "Two, I don't like you! And three, I can't reach my lawyers so they can get me out of this!"

"Oh, give it a rest, Courtney." I sighed. "Look, I've got a preposition for you, later on, but I'll reconsider it if you keep on whining."

 **You may have guessed what Stephanie wants with Courtney. Yeah, probably.**


	46. Chapter 46

**Right, let's keep moving. Thanks for reviewing, Gage the Hedgehog, StarHeart Specials, SuperKitty4789 and GIANTPANDAMAN.**

Another break was good. While Courtney and Lindsay took their reward, I hung out with Duncan again.

"So, were you going to propose an alliance with Courtney or something?" he asked curiously.

I laughed. "No, I was going to propose she vote herself off. Of course I was going to, you moron! But not an all-for-one and one-for all alliance. Basically, it goes like this – if she can help me without hindering her chances of winning, she does and vice versa, and we don't vote each other off. But I'll try to be nice to her for the next challenge and then ask her."

To be fair, the next challenge had to be one of the most boring, and simultaneously the most fun I'd had on the movie lot so far.

We were woken up early as usual, by a scream. It turned out to be Chef in a pink dress, tied up. And Batman attempted to rescue him.

Well, it was Chris dressed up as Batman, actually. Manbat, I guess – Batman's evil twin. But the rope he swung in on didn't hold out, and he got his hair messed up. Ooh, what a disaster.

"Um, is anyone going to tell us what the heck is going on here?" Courtney snapped.

"When I feel like it!" Chris said crossly, smoothing his hair down. "And now, I feel like it! Today's challenges are inspired by the superhero flick!" And as for waking us up early, apparently his excuse for that was that evil never sleeps, so we couldn't risk it either. Well, okay, I hope I catch Chris asleep someday to prove him wrong.

According to Chris, we all had to do three things: Have superpowers, save people, and wear tights. Oh well, at least I was a girl, so I was used to tights. We went to get our clothes on and brush our teeth, and made a stop at the confessional.

"Superheroine, huh?" I grinned. "I like the sound of that. But superheroines can be super villainous, right? This superheroine may not be a villain, but she's gonna be vicious! And I just got a good idea..."

Our first challenge was to create our identity and costumes, out of spandex and a bunch of junk. We would be judged on our superhero's names, costumes, originality, and superpower.

Oh, and Chef – sorry, I mean, _Pythonicus –_ and his sidekick cat would try to sabotage us as the supervillains.

"Any questions?" Chris asked.

We all raised our hands.

"No? Perfect! And...action!"

I grabbed a roll of black material and kept it on me as I looked through the junk. I found spiky red talons and a sparkly pink headband (okay, pink wasn't in my plans) and I decided they would have to do.

I kept an eye out for the supervillains as I cut and sewed. Once I was done, I got dressed and looked into the nearest camera. I only got enough time to swing my tail, claw at the camera, and hiss before Chris called for time.

The eight of us stood behind the curtains, each waiting our turn. Beth came out first, wearing logs on her arms and legs.

"State your name and superpower." we heard Chris say.

Beth muttered something we couldn't hear.

"You're a superhero – act like it!"

This time, we could hear Beth. "I am Lumber Woman! And I can talk to plants!"

"Seriously? What do you talk about?" Chris mocked. "The best brand of fertilizer? That's worth a whole three points."

Justin's costume was a sad weaker echo of Beth's. "I am Timber Man! And my superpower is..." Just wood chips. He said something about also floating and making fire.

But Chris wasn't impressed. "Lame. Two points."

Harold had better luck. He was wearing a red and white costume. "I'm Captain Alberta!" His superpower was to use a burrito to create a burning gas that was actually pretty effective at disabling a supervillain. Chris gave him seven points.

Duncan point-blank refused to wear spandex and just glued an eye to his forehead, calling himself the All-Seeing Eye, who could see the future. He predicted Harold learning a painful lesson, and punched him.

"Even _I_ saw that coming." Chris said in a bored tone. "Two points."

Courtney was actually pretty good. "I'm the Human Cricket!" She'd glued gold-painted pieces of metal to her legs.

Chris laughed. "And whatcha gonna do, chirp us into submission?"

"Actually..." Courtney put plugs in her ears and began rubbing the metal together, making everyone block their ears. She got eight points.

I let Leshawna go before me. "I'm Super-Aqua Chick!" She had water bombs, which got her seven points.

Finally, it was my turn. I walked towards Chris. "I'm Queen Claw!" I announced, adding a hiss. "And my red claws..." (the talons I'd found) "...can hang onto anything and scratch anyone into blood loss. Oh, and as for my tail..." I swung the long black tail I'd made out of spandex, and stretched it far enough to almost, but not quite, hit Chris in the face.

Chris flinched, but he grinned. "Okay, I gotta say I like the style." I hated the way he was looking at the form-fitting cat suit I was wearing (complete with the tail, and little black ears on a headband). "Nine points! And an extra one for having two superpowers – so that's ten points!" (No, I wasn't copying Catwoman – she was a supervillain, and she didn't have my same powers).

I came equal with Lindsay, actually. Chris couldn't choose between us, even though Lindsay was just a new version of Wonder Woman, and said that her superpower was that she wondered a lot. "Oh, and I have an invisible jet right here! Or did I leave it over there?"

"You and Stephanie win!" Chris announced. "I loved Wonder Woman as a kid! Ten points!"

"What?" Courtney cried. "What about originality? Wonder Woman's already a superhero! And Stephanie's clearly copying Catwoman!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Chris said sarcastically. "Is this your show? Oh, no, no, it's _my_ show, which means I make the rules."  
"Actually," Courtney said, "I think my lawyers make the rules."

"Possibly, but I'm still the judge of the contest. And I deem Lindsay and Stephanie both winners, which mean they get an advantage in the next challenge."

Courtney tossed a smirk our way. "You may have won the first round, but we'll see who comes out on top."

As she walked away, Lindsay winked at me, then gave a huge dramatic gasp. "Courtney just stepped on my invisible jet!"

Chris bought it. "Courtney, minus two points for stepping on Lindsay's jet."

"Can I have a ride?" Harold asked.

"And me?" I added.

"Sure!" Lindsay smiled. "Who wants a ride in my invisible jet?"

"I do!" That was everyone except Courtney.

Next, we had to do an obstacle course – superhero style. We would jump from a height on a trampoline, over a buildings backdrop and onto a mattress. Then we would try to catch a woman, a.k.a, a bag of potatoes in a dress that Chef dropped out a window, and then cross a power line while Chef threw stuff at us. Whoever did it fastest won. And Lindsay and I each got ten seconds taken off our time!

Wonder Woman 2.0 went first. She managed the trampoline and mattress all right, but didn't manage to catch the bag. "Whoopsie. Sorry, lady."

"Not such a Wonder Woman now, huh?" Courtney yelled.

"You've got issues." Chris told her.

Lindsay didn't manage to get across the power line without falling. But me? Well, I did better. I got over the building, caught the woman (but accidentally sliced the bag open) and crossed the power line, but it took me over a minute!

Harold, or Captain Alberta did a lot better, even incorporating his superpower to get over the backdrop. He caught the bag in mid-run. "There you go, ma'am. All in a day's work for Captain Alberta!" And he not only crossed the power lines without falling, but got to the end, landing on his feet. Even I hadn't managed that, and I was supposed to be part cat!

One by one, everyone else went. Beth and Justin were pretty hopeless. Leshawna did okay, except for hitting the building on her first try and losing time going back to try again. Duncan was pretty good, and Courtney made it all look easy.

Finally, Chris gave us the results. "While Captain Alberta did a surprisingly good job, even incorporating his, uh, superpower, the winner of the second challenge and invincibility is...the Human Cricket, with thirty seconds!"

"Yes!" cheered the Cruelly Competitive Cricket, and started rubbing the metal on her legs again.

"Don't make me change my mind, Courtney!" Chris yelled, blocking his ears. Courtney stopped, but you could tell how happy she was.

So that night, us girls all discussed who to vote off. Well, Lindsay, Leshawna, Beth and I at least.

"I wish we could vote off Courtney!" Lindsay sighed.

"Girl's got game, that's for sure." Leshawna remarked.

I nodded. "Yeah, and that makes her a major threat. But who are we going to vote off instead?"

"I say we vote off Duncan." Beth suggested. "He's super strong and much as Courtney would hate to admit it, it'd probably kill her."

"Kill two jerks with one stone? I like it." Leshawna said. She and Lindsay agreed. "But there's only four of us! We might not be able to do it on our own!"

I considered telling them I wouldn't do it, but decided against. I kept chopping and changing, not sure if I wanted Duncan to go or not. One moment I thought I would vote with the girls, the next I'd decide to vote for Justin, if by any chance Courtney and the other boys had voted for him.

Beth went off to try to convince someone else to our side.  
But that night, we all voted electronically, as usual. My finger hovered between Duncan, Justin, Duncan, Justin...I closed my eyes and stabbed my finger at one of the two boys. I didn't know which.

Chris threw us all Gilded Chris awards as usual. I had one, Courtney had one, and so did Lindsay, Justin and Harold. Beth had one. That left the last two.

"And finally..." Chris said... "...Duncan!"

Beth, Lindsay and I gasped, staring at our eliminated friend. "Leshawna!"

"You guys voted for me?"

Then suddenly, Harold was on his knees in front of his goddess (yeah, I've heard him calling her that) almost in tears. "I'm sorry!" he blubbed. "I didn't know if I could trust you, but I made a mistake! A big mistake!"

As he cried, Leshawna's face softened. "Aw, honey pie, don't you worry." she soothed. "I made a mistake once too: Don't hate the player, hate the game."

"Do you forgive me?" Harold asked.

Leshawna gave him a hug. "Come here, sugar baby. Leshawna's got a whole lotta love."

"Okay, okay, enough with the warmth and affection." Chris snapped. "Time for the Walk of Shame."

So the girls and I didn't get to give her a hug goodbye, but we called our goodbyes as she left. Harold, too, called out once again that he'd miss her.  
"Aw, I'll miss you too, baby." Leshawna told him. "And I'll be rooting for you. You just make sure you stand up for yourself, you hear? You kick Duncan's butt!"

At that same moment, Duncan said "Hey, Harold, what's that in your pocket?" Then he kicked the poor guy and ran off, laughing.

I chased after my delinquent friend, screeching "Get back here, All-Seeing Nothing! Queen Claw has a little piece of advice for you!"

Duncan stopped running just before we reached the trailers, turned around, and said softly but dangerously "Oh yeah? What is it, _Queen Claw_?"

I let a smile spread over my face. "Scratching is far more effective than kicking." I burst out laughing, and Duncan did too.

"You're _so_ gonna pay for mocking my tactics." he teased.

"Oh yeah?" I said back. "You gonna kick me too?"

"Well, I don't kick little girls. You on the other hand..." Duncan laughed again and just gave me a light shove. "'Night, Stephie."

But little did I know, that I would have to show my skills in combat later on. And that day was coming a lot sooner than I would have imagined.

 **What does Stephanie mean? Here's a hint: Tying with Lindsay for the first part of the challenge will have an effect.**


	47. Chapter 47

**Okay. End of the fourth week!**

 **Also, here's a note about my reference. When Stephanie talks about having a psychopath stalking her brother, yes, she is referencing Sideshow Bob, since she actually acts civil and even friendly towards him when he's not chasing Bart Simpson with the intent of ending his life. The musical I reference is _Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street,_ so yeah, all rights go to Sondheim. This is a reference to Bob's voice actor, Kelsey Grammer, who has played the titular character onstage, just as I mention his character has.**

Courtney didn't get any letters at the end of the week, just as she hadn't on the island. Surprisingly, though, I got a letter from Gwen.

 _Hey Steph,_

 _I figured you knew about the Aftermath show, but not what was going on. Tomorrow night (I'm writing this after we got the live footage of the superhero episode), we have the third Aftermath show. Leshawna just got here._

 _Anyway, thing is, Geoff's been acting really sadistic recently. In the last Aftermath, he was willing to let me face pirahnas in the name of entertainment! Even Bridgette sent in fanmail with a question for me under a fake username about what she should do about it. Got any ideas? Bridgette's talked to him, but I'm not sure how much good that will do._

 _Good luck on the rest of the show! I'm rooting for you._

 _Gwen_

I had another letter from Lisa, too. She'd just gotten the Stone Age movie episode.

 _Stephanie,_

 _Wow, has a lot happened in the last week of episodes. First, the team switch. I know you wanted to be on the Gaffers, but I have to wonder...you liked your team, right? You, Beth and Lindsay were so friendly with each other – and I know how much you liked hanging out with Izzy. And so...were you going to make a move on Duncan while you still could? Like, when Courtney wasn't around? Which brings me to my second subject._ (Just reminding you, my short-lived fling with Duncan was off-camera, so Lisa knew nothing about it – the only difference between him and any of my friends that she knew of is that I let him call me "Stephie").

 _Courtney's back? I agree with everyone else. That's so unfair! For once, I think Duncan's right – Courtney's really acting like a princess. Whining, getting special treatment, a PDA – look, I want you to have a PDA so we could actually talk! But you don't see me complaining about you not being allowed to talk to me._

 _By the way, nice job on the last few episodes. And I'm glad you let Leshawna out of that safe – that spa lie was unfair, but she didn't deserve to be locked up for it. Oh yes, and I am very glad that you guys finally took out Heather. She didn't deserve to win!_

 _I'm actually really getting into the show now. This movie genre challenges are a lot more fun than those horrible summer camp ones. I like how creative you can be in some of them. Keep going! Remember, you're there to win!_

 _Love, Lisa_

I smiled to myself as I read that. My little sister was absolutely right about everything, as usual. Anyway, Courtney finally confronted me about the proposition I'd mentioned after the spy challenge.

"You ever gonna make that proposition, or what?" she demanded.

I managed a sweet smile and said "Oh, right. Yeah. Sorry, Courtney – it slipped my mind. Here it is: I was going to ask you to form an alliance with me. Not a giant all for one and one for all one – just, like, you help me out if it doesn't keep you from winning, I help you out if it doesn't keep me from winning, and we don't vote each other off. Lindsay and Beth were saying how they wanted to vote you off yesterday. How about it? You protect me, I protect you and no one else knows. I'll try to dissuade the girls from voting for you and you don't let the guys vote for me. And we could vote for the same person. Yeah?"

Courtney was thoughtful as she considered it. But after a minute, she smiled. "Deal." We shook hands on it.

The next day, I didn't arouse suspicion. While Courtney strategized, everyone else tried to make the biggest burritos except for Duncan, who would judge.

"Think I'd make a good reality show host?" he asked his ex-girlfriend.

"Excuse me? I'm strategizing."

"Ooh."

"If you'd strategize, maybe you could manage something more articulate." Courtney said sternly.

"Maybe you could blah blah blah-"

"Time's up, co-competitors!" Harold called out.

Beth and Lindsay had put their burritos together, kept close with one of Beth's friendship bracelets (I was still wearing mine). Harold's burrito was meant to look like Leshawna, while Justin's was supposed to be an appropriation of his arm muscle. As for mine...I'd purposely made it look like the red in the meat was blood, and stuck two pieces of pastry from the top to look like fangs. Yeah, a vampire. So call me cliché, at least my vampire looked like it wanted to suck human blood!

When Justin showed off his, he flexed with the burrito, and frowned when Beth and Lindsay looked blank. "Nothing? You feel _nothing_?"

"Not a tingle." Beth said.

"Not even an ingle." added Lindsay.

Justin started mourning losing his looks again, even though he was as hot as ever. Meanwhile, Duncan declared the winner. "Harold, your pathetic portrayal of puppy love makes me wanna hurl, but you _did_ make the biggest burrito, so you win."

"This isn't right!" Justin whined. "I demand a second neutral opinion."

"Please." Courtney continued tapping away on her PDA. "I'm not coming anywhere near the infected." According to her, we had reality show-itis and if we weren't careful, we'd lose focus on the real competition by turning everything else into a reality show-esque challenge.

But Justin smiled and went to sit next to her anyway. "You know, you're the only one taking the game seriously. I just wish I knew how you did it all. It's so inspirational."

Courtney smiled back. "Just being me! I'm glad to help."

"You could help more if you'd tell me your secrets," Justin pressed, "Like, how do you even get through life with all your deformities?"

"My _what_?" Courtney stared at him. "I don't have any deformities!" That was true. Courtney was actually one of the prettiest contestants besides Lindsay. With her tan skin tone, dark eyes and hourglass figure, most of us only wished we had that kind of proportion. Even Heather.

"So your answer is...denial?" Justin took Courtney's narrowed eyes as a reply.

Chris and Chef came in, ready for the challenge, but when Beth saw the boot in Chris' hand, she immediately spoke up. "Ooh, that's a glass slipper! Which means today's challenge is a fairytale movie, my favourite!"

Chris glared at her. "Beth, dude, if you ever steal my intro again, I'll have to personally boot you off the show."

"You can't boot Beth!" Lindsay defended her. But then she smiled. "Oh wait, he can, cause it's a glass boot!"

According to Chris, everyone would be a knight except for one person. The girl whose foot fit the shoe got to be the princess – except that Chris was only letting the winners from last time try it, so Beth was out by default. Courtney won the second challenge, and Lindsay and I won the first, so we would all have the chance to be the princess.

Lindsay tried the shoe on first. "Are you sure that's the right one? It's tiny, like a kid's boot!"

"What can I say?" shrugged Chris. "Princesses are supposed to have dainty feet."

As it turned out, Lindsay had reason to be worried. Her cowgirl boots did her a lot of justice, because she released the biggest feet we'd ever seen. There was no way she could get that glass shoe on her foot.

I went next. I took off my Converse and slid my foot into that little glass boot. I had to scrunch my toes up a bit, but apart from that, it fit almost perfectly. We compared my foot to Courtney's to check that it wouldn't fit her better, and that was it. Courtney's foot was bigger, and if my foot was the smallest and I still had a slightly too-long foot...the shoe fit me best!

Chef came forward with a wand and fairy dust, which he threw into everyone else's faces. He tapped my head lightly with the wand. "I dub thee Princess Stephanie."

Courtney scowled, but didn't threaten her lawyers this time. She still had a chance to win invincibility by rescuing me.

While Chris began the challenge with everyone else, I was sent to the makeup trailer, where my princess costume was waiting. Ugh, after spending nearly five years in nothing but black, silver and red, putting on a poofy purple thing was torture. Yeah, I didn't mind the tiara so much, but still. I looked like something out of Disney. Like a mix of Rapunzel and Cinderella, with hair like Pocahontas (except not as perfect).

I didn't make a confessional, though. I wanted to see what happened before I had to get to my place in the story. Yeah, I had to learn a song, but I wanted to see what the six brave knights had to do. Once I knew, I'd go and learn it.

Basically, Chris was reading the "story" from a book, and they had to act it out. First, they had to cross a bridge with "disguises" that doubled as blindfolds, and get past Chef as the Terrible Toothless Troll.

Everyone protested, but Chris told them off. "Nowhere in this story does it say 'the cowardly knights complained'! Now get it together, and get crossing!"

I didn't stay to watch, since I had to practise the song. This was my chance to get spotted, possibly for Broadway, and I did not want to screw up.

Finally, I got to my place, and Chris narrated as I was lowered down to the stage with wires, saying that he gave the knights left (Lindsay and Beth were out, but all the guys and Courtney were still in) a vision of me, the princess.

The music began, and I sang the words I'd memorized. " _When I was a little girl, I'd dream of my first kiss._

 _It would come from my perfect prince._ And in my dream, it went like this!" I sighed dreamily.

" _My prince will be tall and handsome, my prince will be tough as nails!"_ I sang. As I did, Justin flexed, and Duncan demonstrated how tough he was.

" _My prince will have lots of money, my prince will tame wild whales!"_ I continued. Then I picked up the frog situated next to me.

" _When we kiss, my prince will be you!"_ I sang, and then pecked the frog lightly and tried to smile through the disgust.

"Wasn't that song brilliant?" Chris said enthustiastically. "It was so brilliant, I know everyone wishes they could hear it over, and over, and over again, and now they can!" He held up a CD with my face on it, wearing the tiara. "Relive the magic of Stephanie, only $12.99! Call 555-SELLOUT to get your authentic Princess Stephanie CD before everyone else downloads it illegally!"

"I'll take one!" Harold offered. "I'm gonna listen to this beautiful love song and think of Leshawna."

"Do you really think it was good, Chris?" I couldn't help asking.

Chris glanced at the camera, then signalled to them to move it away and then replied impatiently " _Yes,_ it was good and you know it. Now stop hogging the camera on my show."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, so you would totally still have this show if all the contestants were gone." But then I smiled. "I guess having an operatic psychopath chasing your younger brother has _some_ benefits other than getting to know the weirdest of Springfield." (Yeah, I am talking about Krusty's ex-sidekick – he's a good singer. Thing is, I remember they did a prison musical last year and for some reason picked the one that allowed the prisoners to get their hands on razors, and he ended up playing the serial killer masquerading as someone at a hair salon).

I'd also noticed that Justin was getting all dreamy over Courtney.

"Hey, you! Sir Justin!" I snapped my fingers. "Wake up! Lady Courtney is a knight. _I'm_ the princess – you're supposed to focus on rescuing me, not flirting with her." Not that I needed rescuing, but I was just teasing.

Courtney glared at me, and mouthed " _I'm just toying with him. Once he's served his purpose in this challenge, I'm ditching him – don't argue."_

I gave an apologetic nod and mouthed " _Right, sorry. Lady Courtney."_ I added with a grin. She managed a quick smile back, before Chef came in on a horse and took me away to a set that appeared to be a tower, and I was reminded of that Rapunzel song Roxy sang in her dreams. How did it go again? " _Let her hair down, sat all day and nobody came."_ Well, I could fight. And if I had to, I would. But I had four people fighting to rescue me.

Oh yeah, and slay the dragon/monster from the earlier challenge.

I had to act like crazy. "Godspeed, my dearest knights." I blew kisses to the guys. "Sir Harold...Sir Duncan...Sir Justin..." I hesitated, and then said "I wish you the best of luck, Lady Courtney. I wish all of you could rescue me – but the one who does will have my eternal gratitude."

I didn't pay attention to the fight with the dragon. Justin manipulated Harold into helping him help Courtney, who was manipulating Justin in turn. Duncan wasn't being manipulated, but Harold stopped him from getting to slay the dragon. Soon enough, Courtney had won. "I'm sorry, Justin." she said sweetly. "I just can't let a chance at invincibility go. You understand." She grinned up at me. "Princess Stephanie, I'll be up there soon!"

But when Courtney did eventually climb up, we weren't sure what to do next. We looked at each other and gave awkward laughs.

"Wait, wait!" called Chris. "There's no awkward laughter! It says here that Lady Courtney and Princess Stephanie must sword fight to determine the true winner." So the winner would get immunity.

I looked at Courtney warily, the memories of her wrestling match with Duncan flashing through my head. Sure, we had wooden swords, so we wouldn't kill each other, but what to do with them?

Courtney didn't waste time. She lunged and I wasn't quick enough to block. Soon, she had the upper hand, and for a girl who looked as preppy and was better at arguing than fighting most of the time, she was strong. Like, really strong. I could take either of my sisters and was evenly matched with my friends physically, but Bart could hold me down if we ever fought, and Courtney was definitely stronger than him. No matter how I struggled, I couldn't get free.

After ten minutes, I couldn't fight any more. "All right, all right!" I yelled. "I surrender."

"Courtney wins immunity!" Chris announced. "Again."

"Yes!" Courtney cheered, letting me up.

"Remember our deal?" I whispered to her. "Are we gonna vote together?"

She nodded, her dark eyes sparkling with exhilaration. "Justin." she whispered back. We were in agreement.

Not only did Chris start selling my song, but he also started selling dolls of me – not as Princess Stephanie though, just in my regular outfit I'd chosen for Total Drama. Yeah, I got none of the profits for it, but to be honest, I didn't care. At least people watching now knew I could act, and sing. Okay, so my princess song wasn't exactly _Wicked,_ but, well...

Yeah. You know.

I was pretty relieved to receive my Gilded Chris award that night, after losing the sword fight. All the girls and Harold received them, too. And the last person to get one was...

"Justin!" Chris announced. "Duncan, you're out!"

"What?!" exclaimed Courtney. "This is an outrage! Justin should be going home!"

"Yeah, you're right." Chris said casually. "I was just kidding. _Justin's_ actually the one who's been eliminated!" He tossed the last Gilded Chris to Duncan.

"An outrage, huh?" Duncan smirked at his ex.

Justin didn't get a proper goodbye. No one would really miss him. Courtney gave him a little wave, and Harold said something, but he got no admiration from the girls who had drooled over him previously. "All right, I'm going." he said. "But you'll regret it. With me gone, this show just became eighty percent less handsome." (I should add here that a later contestant said in a later season that I didn't compete in that his absence made the show "100% less beautiful"). But then, he accidentally bruised himself when he bumped into the Lame-o-sine. "Okay, seventy-nine!"

When I went back to the trailers that night, I pretended to be mad at Courtney. "I think you bruised me all over." I mock-scowled.

"Oh, get over it!" Courtney snapped, but I saw that she knew I didn't mean it. "Immunity, remember?" But then she came up to me and hissed into my ear "Come on, stop acting like you're friends with me! We don't want Beth and Lindsay to know about our alliance, remember? And we're _not_ friends!"

I gave her a sad look and whispered back "Why can't we be friends? And I'm sorry, but do you honestly think _Lindsay_ would cotton on?"

 **Yeah...that alliance doesn't really have harmony...or melody, come to that! Sorry for that horrible pun.**


	48. Chapter 48

**Come on, put your Sherlock hat on and call your best friend Watson! Thanks for reviewing, Nicky Haugh, GIANTPANDAMAN (as Chris always says, it's a family show, plus I don't think Stephanie wants her younger siblings AND her dad to tease her about that when she gets home) and SuperKitty4789.**

We had another break the next day, but the show was getting so stressful that I didn't really enjoy it. The island had been a lot easier, but ten weeks of competition with this one and another afterwards looming made things really tense.

The next day, our reward challenge began when Harold found a USB in his breakfast taco. Courtney let us plug it into her PDA (okay, only when Duncan took it off her and reminded her that it was part of the challenge), and the six of us left crowded around to see what it said.

The USB had a video clip of Chris. "I hope you all had a filling breakfast." he said. "It was so delish. I was practically on Cloud Nine! I could've had a dozen of them. But enough about breakfast, it's time to six this combination, I mean, conversation."

"So weird." frowned Beth. "I think maybe Chris needs a vacation."

I frowned too. "I'm not sure. I think he's trying to tell us something, maybe give us a combination. Nine...twelve...six..."

The image of Chris continued. "Right now, I'm gonna relax in a _safe_ and secure place, and get ready for today's challenge. You're probably wondering what the challenge is. It will remain a mystery until you find me. Hopefully, you'll _clue_ in and track me down, but in the meantime, I'm gonna _crack_ open a soda and relax. See ya."

Duncan and Harold didn't want to find him, but Lindsay did. She agreed that Chris was giving us hints. "He said he was on Cloud Nine, which is like Heaven, which means he's not alive any more! And what do you do with dead people? You bury them! So maybe he's buried underground."  
I rolled my eyes. "Lindsay, you've got it all wrong. He was giving us a combination for something – nine, twelve, six." Everyone except Courtney looked blank. "He's locked up somewhere secure and was telling us how to get him out. But I'm not sure where."

Courtney smiled in a superior way "Stephanie's right about the combination. But as for where he is...it's so obvious. Chris said he was feeling 'safe and secure'. Get it? _Safe_?"

The rest of the competitors looked blankly at her.

"Chris said that he was going to crack open a soda. You crack a safe. Now you get it?"

"Nope. Still nothing." Lindsay informed her.

"He's _clearly_ in the bank vault set from the bank heist challenge!" Courtney finally said. "Duh."

I smiled. "Okay, now I get it. I wish I'd known that combination two weeks ago. I wouldn't have had half as much trouble freeing Leshawna!"

Courtney led the way to the bank vault as Lindsay protested. "Hey, I was the one who said Chris was giving us clues!"

"You did, sweetie." Beth said soothingly. Lindsay seethed.

I tried to beat Courtney to the bank vault, but she was already keying in the 9 by the time I reached it.

"Yeah, thanks for stealing the ideas I confessed, genius." I snapped.

"I knew them _anyway._ " Courtney said, still in her superior tone. "That was the most obvious part of the message."

When she got the door open, she went straight to Chris and demanded "What's my prize?"

"Hm, I hardly recall having mentioned any sort of prize." Chris said in a British accent. Then he returned to his normal voice. "But thanks for releasing me. It was getting stuffy in there."

After a bit of banter, Chris explained that today's genre was mysteries, and we'd meet him at the train station that night. But before we did anything, we needed to get someone's handprint and DNA to board the train.

I went to the confessional. "Okay, so I have to make sure no one does anything to get my DNA and handprint, as well as getting someone's. This won't be easy."

So naturally, I sneaked some tomato sauce from the craft tent and then hung out with Duncan. Before he knew what was going on, I'd squirted the sauce on his hand, printed the prints on paper, and pulled out a few of his green hairs. They both went into a bag.

"Sorry, dude," I said, "But a girl's gotta get the prints!"

Besides, I wasn't as bad as Courtney. She pretended to treat Lindsay to a spa session to get her prints. And Harold was caught in his own trap when Duncan sidestepped it, then pinned the geek to the ground to get his prints and stubble hair.

Lindsay actually set up a pretty good way of getting Courtney's prints, but Courtney pretended not to notice the blue paint or paper she stepped on after showering, but then stepped on the paper and wrung some of the water out of her hair so the prints didn't show up.

Beth managed to trick Lindsay into covering her hands in tomato sauce instead of just squirting it on her.

As if Courtney wasn't mean enough, she also got Duncan's prints. Then she offered to hang out with me for a while, but I shook my head. "No way, Court. Not after getting Duncan _and_ Lindsay's prints. How do I know you're not trying to get mine, too?"

Harold got Beth's prints while she was in the confessional, so by the end of the day, we all had a set, except for Lindsay.

Courtney demanded her prize again, but Chris told her it wasn't prize time.

"Make it prize time!"

"I'm trying to do my job here!" Chris protested.

"Maybe I should get my lawyers to do their job." Courtney threatened.

"Moving on..."

"I want a prize. I want a prize! I WANT A PRIZE!"

Chris gave her some chips to shut her up, and we boarded the train. Chris actually had to get mine and Courtney's prints to ride the train, since no one had managed to get our prints previously. And we even got food.

Then suddenly, everything went black.

"Who shut off the lights?" I heard Harold say.

Then Chris' voice. "Hey, you can't kill the host!" There were scuffles, and then the lights came back on.

Beth spoke. "Look! Chris is dead!"

Chris was lying on the floor, looking pretty much dead. It was true...but somehow I didn't believe it. Chris dying in the middle of a mystery challenge? That was too much of a coincidence.

Although, one thing we got out of it was Courtney's reaction. "No! That's not possible! I never got a decent prize! Harold, give him CPR!"

But Chris seemed to be way past that point. Still, Courtney remained convinced that this was a setup after we found out we couldn't reach anyone. She was sure Chris was faking and that our train was fake, but after she made Duncan go on the top of the train to check, he confirmed that it was real. Oh, and after the lights went out a second time, Chris' corpse disappeared, leaving behind only a red outline that Lindsay had drawn with her lipstick.

"If this is real," Harold said, "And if we are really stuck in this car, then somebody here must be..." He took out a magnifying glass. "The _murderer."_ He said the last word in a weird accent.

"Oh, can't you be serious?" Courtney scoffed.

"I am! What could be more serious than...a _murder?_ "

When we saw Chris had gone, Courtney again said that it was a setup. "Duncan, go check to see if he's in one of the other cars."

Duncan obeyed, while Harold looked for clues to the 'murder'. "I don't wanna get _murdered_ in my sleep."

"I don't wanna get _murdered_ either!" added Lindsay, copying Harold's way of saying the word.

I gave a sigh. "This is a challenge, okay? Courtney is right that Chris isn't really dead, but Harold has the right idea. Beth, Lindsay, let's help. We need to find evidence of whodunnit!"

But it was Harold who found the real evidence. "It's one of Duncan's green hairs!"

A weird chord played.

"Where's that annoying music coming from?" Courtney looked around. I looked over at Harold, who hid his keyboard behind his back. When he saw me looking, he gave me a pleading look.

I mouthed _I won't tell_ at him, and he shot me a grateful look.

When Duncan got back, everyone except Courtney accused him of killing Chris. They said that Chris not giving Courtney a prize was his motive, because she was his love interest. Beth even found handcuffs to restrain him to one side of the car.

"I think we should keep looking for evidence, just in case Duncan didn't do it." I said.

"Yeah." Courtney said slowly. "I second that."

"Even though you think this is all fake?" I smirked at her.

"Well..." Courtney stammered, not sure what to say. "...I agree with you, Steph! It's a challenge! We need to check our facts before we do anything else."

Lindsay agreed. "We still need to figure out how Chris died." And I should add here that it was Lindsay who figured things out. She was the one who found the napkin with orange powder on it, held as if it had been used to suffocate Chris.

And as Lindsay said, the powder looked as if it had come from chips. Courtney's chips. "Which she refused to share. Therefore, Courtney was the only one to have orange cheesy fingers!"

And when Lindsay brought out a set of Courtney's prints, that was it. Courtney was the murderer.

"Oh, I really had you guys! I look good in rubber, don't you think?" Chris was suddenly walking in, very much alive, dragging the dead version of him by the hand. It had been rubber all along! "Crackerjack special effects, dude!"

Lindsay had won the reward challenge, or as Chris called her, Detective Lindsay.

"I prefer Detective Lindsay, Her Hotness." the blonde corrected.

"No! This isn't fair!" Courtney protested. "I've won two portions already! I was the one who knew you weren't dead! She couldn't even tell the difference between a human being and a rubber dummy! I didn't do it! I'm innocent!"

But Chris didn't waver. Lindsay could spend a night at the movies with anyone at all. And...

She took Duncan. Not because they were friends, but because she knew it would annoy Courtney. And I had to hand it to her – Lindsay had a good brain when she actually tried to use it. How come she'd never used her brain on the island?

 **Good question, huh? Lindsay was my pick to win in TDA. She was by far the best, with Beth second. Even after I knew the finalists, I watched "Rock N Rule" over, hoping that this time, Duncan would be eliminated.**


	49. Chapter 49

**Okay. Music n' movies, let's see it! Oh yeah, and I'm not bringing back Owen. Sorry guys, but the only reason for bringing him back would be to ensure Harold was eliminated. Do I really need that?**

 **Thanks for reviewing, GIANTPANDAMAN, RebelToasters12 and SuperKitty4789.**

The next elimination challenge had no break inbetween. Lindsay was full of energy. While the rest of the girls, including me, were finishing our makeup, she came back from the bathrooms, singing " _You...and meeeeee...like butter knives are free, we're freeeeeeeeee!"_

It was Courtney who told her to shut up. "It's like butterflies, not butter knives! And everybody knows you picked Duncan for your movie reward last night as retaliation. The murder mystery challenge is over, so you can stop massacring that song!"

"I wasn't mascaraing anything except my eyelashes, Courtney." Lindsay said, carefully doing her makeup. "What's the other thing you said I did?"

"Guys, can't we try to get along?" Beth began, but Courtney talked over her.

"Stop playing dumb, Lindsay!"

Lindsay began singing again, and I gave a sigh.

"Stop singing, _please_ , Linds?" I begged. "Courtney, shut up, no one cares what you think. I agree with Beth. We've got an elimination challenge today, and we need to save our fights for that."

We were called out by Chef drumming on a set right next to the trailers.

"Nice of you to join us." Chris said cheerfully. "Today's movie genre is...drumroll please!" Chef's drumroll was far too long. In fact, Chris decided he had to start over before he told us what the movie genre was...rock n' roll biopic. Boring. Oh well, at least the challenges made from a biopic could be cool.

"All right!" Harold exclaimed, making air guitar sounds.

Chris wouldn't really tell us properly what would happen in a biopic to the kid who gets their break, since all of us were sixteen. He just told us that they were "Things that lead to dangerous addictions, multiple divorces, the occasional night in the joint, and an untimely death – while sitting on a toilet."

But there were a few things that Chris was allowed to talk about that the rock star would do. And those would be the challenges. "You need to know how to rock out on a guitar, work the paparazzi, and trash a hotel room." We had to go to a stadium for the first challenge. Well, that's what Chris said, but we spent hours looking for one before going back to the Awards theatre.

"I said ten minutes, not ten hours!" Chris said crossly.

"You also said to meet you at the big stadium." Duncan countered. "This is the dumpy Gilded Chris awards theatre." Albeit with a cool rock star stage backdrop to work with, but still, it wasn't our fault we were late. But then again, Chris congratulated us for doing something a real rock star would do – show up late for our own show.

First, we were given toy guitars. "Since I'm guessing most of you can't read, let alone read music," as Chris said, we were given the guitars and told which notes to hit by coloured notes on the screen. One by one, we'd be eliminated, and we'd get an electric shock every time we played a wrong note. "But don't worry. You'll live. Although you may never be able to play the piano again."

"I can't play the piano anyway." shrugged Lindsay.

"Or use the phone."

"NOOOO!"

I rolled my eyes. "Lindsay, you're getting really annoying today." I informed her. "If you utter a note any higher than that scream, I _will_ punch your lights out. Or blackmail Duncan into doing it for me." I aimed a sly wink at said delinquent, who remained silent. But then, so did Lindsay, so that worked for me.

"Are you ready to rock out?" Chris called out.

" _To those about to rock, I salute you!_ " Harold sang.

"And...rock on!"

So the six of us began to rock out. Harold was the first to drop out. He played so fast his guitar caught on fire. Me, I only played every few notes and made it look like I was loving it.

Next to go was Lindsay, who got electrocuted. Then Beth's guitar exploded.

On one side of me was Courtney, who was smiling and playing for all she was worth. Duncan hit one note every two seconds, and didn't bother to try at all.

"ARE YOU GUYS HAVING FUN YET?" I yelled out to a non-existent audience. I took a pause before I called out again. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

The challenge ended when Duncan smashed his guitar.

"Impressive, all of you." Chris said. "But the winner is..."

Chef played a drumroll.

"Duncan!"

"What?" Courtney and I gasped.

"But I hit every note!" Courtney protested. "And I played behind my head, and on my knees, and with my teeth!"

"Yes, yes you did." Chris agreed. "But you tried way too hard. And if there's one thing that rock stars don't do, it's try. Even a little. You saw Duncan."

"Yes." Courtney scowled. "He played every tenth note, and broke his guitar afterward."

"Exactly."

"What's your excuse for me?" I snapped. "I wasn't trying!"

"Are you kidding?" Chris laughed. "You were _so_ milking it for the audience. That's for pop stars, not rock stars."

Duncan grinned cockily at us. "Tough luck, Stephie." he said. And then to Courtney, "Watch and learn, baby doll. Maybe one day both of you will be able to rock as hard as me."

Courtney took aim with her guitar, and Duncan screamed. The brunette smirked. "That hard enough, _baby doll_?"

"Give the dude a break, Court." I advised her. "We're not up to immunity yet. With our skills, bet we can work the paparazzi and trash hotel rooms way better."

The next challenge was to cross the red carpet and get "backstage" on an obstacle course of fans, groupies, photographers, reporters...all of 'em. Well, okay, so I would have to avoid them in real life. But in this one, it sounded like I would have to milk it.

Duncan got to miss half the red carpet for winning the last challenge, but I didn't care. This one sounded like fun, even if I didn't win.

Courtney went first. She ducked the paparazzi, signed an autograph, waved to a groupie, and even got a prize (only Lindsay got something from that guy later on – the rest of us missed that).

Courtney refused the canape she was offered by another obstacle. Then she had to pass the cardboard bouncer. "Do you know who I am?" she snapped at him, and he let her through.

Duncan took his turn. He spat on the first photographer, and threw the other one's camera away. He didn't do anything for the autograph girl, but wrote his number on the groupie's stomach and gave her the 'call me' motion. And he kicked the bouncer over.

It was my turn next. When the paparazzi popped up, I smiled. "Hey, you guys!" I said. To the photographers, I smiled, then gave them a moody look, then blew a kiss to the guy. I signed my autograph, gave the groupie a quick hug, accepted my canape, and smiled at the bouncer. "Wanna let me in?" I said seductively. "I'll be so much fun..." He let me through.

"Slow, but well done." Chris said as I finished. "Showing your best side and your worst side with the photographers was a nice touch."

Beth lost her glasses at the start and had no idea what she was doing. That was a loss. As for Harold, Duncan called him by a middle name (he'd whispered to me on a break that one of Harold's many middle names was Doris), and Harold was so humiliated that he burst into tears and ran across the carpet, missing everything.

Lindsay was a breath of fresh air after Beth and Harold. She smiled for the camera, signed her autograph, hugged the groupie, took her bag of loot, accepted a canape, and flirted with the bouncer.

Chris showed us all our best photos. "Courtney ducked, Duncan socked, Stephanie flirted, Beth slipped...Harold, if that's not a cry for help, I don't know what is. And Lindsay posed. Which means we have a winner!"

I couldn't help staying hopeful. The shot had caught me blowing a kiss to the camera, so yeah, I looked a bit flirty, but I still looked okay. Certainly better than Beth caught off-guard and Harold crying.

"...Lindsay!"

"Yay!" squealed the blonde. Yeah, I'd warned her against hitting another high note, but to be honest, seeing Courtney complain that she avoided the paparazzi best was worth it. I was right – she wasn't meant to avoid them.

"Chris," I said maturely, "I'm guessing that I was in for the win before Lindsay impressed everyone?"

"Well, it's not really fair to hurt the other contestants by telling them who else was better..." Chris said. "But yeah, Steph. You were miles ahead of everyone else until then."

Courtney's eyes shot daggers at me. I shot sabers back at her. Much cooler than daggers.

The last challenge was just to trash a hotel room. Lindsay got an extra ten seconds added on to our thirty, but I was still determined to destroy the most.

To be honest, the winner was obvious from the start. Courtney went INSANE. She was furious after losing the first two challenges, and trashed everything in sight. By the time Lindsay got the extra ten seconds and everyone was done, Courtney had already destroyed everything and won immunity.

I talked to Courtney about who to vote off, just as we'd agreed. "I think we should get rid of Lindsay." she said firmly. "I can't stand much more of her, and she's stronger than I thought."

I had a feeling that had she not been in love, she would've picked Duncan, but she had a point. Lindsay was a lot stronger than she seemed. Besides that, I could tell she was one of Chris' favourites. The way he looked at her made me shudder, but it worked in her favour.

I nodded. "Right. Lindsay. Definitely."

So we all voted, as usual. Courtney, Beth, Harold and I all got Gilded Chris awards. Only Duncan and Lindsay were left.

"The final Gilded Chris goes to..." I held my breath as Chris paused.

"...Duncan! Lindsay's going bye-bye!"

"But Lindsay, Harold and I voted for Duncan!" Beth protested.

"Not so." Chris said. "In fact, what happened is a first for the show. A contestant accidentally voted themselves off!"

Apparently, Lindsay had accidentally clicked on herself when she voted. Chris even showed us the footage. Her picture was right below Duncan's, so it was an easy mistake. The man himself burst out laughing.

But Lindsay managed a smile and a 'bye'. "Don't worry," she added, "Saying bye isn't so bad, cause really, it's just a 'hi' with a B!" She waved, got into the Lame-o-sine, and with that, I was in the final five once again!

 **But this time, will Stephanie make it further? Find out next time!**


End file.
